Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
On the World Stage
When they weren't busy politicking, late-medieval farmers, craftspeople and merchants did
quite well for themselves. Elegant, locally made ceramics, tiles and marbles were show-
cased in churches across Tuscany; became all the rage throughout Europe and the Mediter-
ranean when pilgrims returned home to England and France with examples after following
the Via Francigena pilgrimage route from Canterbury to Rome. Artisans were kept busy ap-
plying their skills to civic works projects and churches, which had to be expanded and up-
dated to keep up with the growing numbers and rising expectations of pilgrims in the area.
With outside interest came outside influence, and local styles adapted to international
markets. Florence became famous for lustrous, tin-glazed
maiolica
(majolica ware) tiles
and plates painted with vibrant metallic pigments that were inspired by the Islamic ceram-
ics of Majorca (Spain). The prolific della Robbia family started to create richly glazed
ceramic reliefs that are now enshrined at the Museo del Bargello in Florence and in
churches and museums across the region.
Modest Romanesque cathedrals were given an International Gothic makeover befitting
their appeal to pilgrims of all nations, but the Italian take on the French style was more col-
ourful than the grey-stone spires and flying buttresses of Paris. The local version often fea-
tured a simple layout and striped stone naves fronted by multilayer birthday-cake facades,
which might be frosted with pink paint, glittering mosaics and rows of arches capped with
sculptures. The most famous example of this confectionery approach is the
duomo
in Siena.
The evolution from solid Romanesque to airy Gothic to a yin and yang balance of the
two can be witnessed in buildings throughout the region, many of which blend a relatively
austere Romanesque exterior with high Gothic drama indoors. This set a new ecclesiastical
architecture standard that was quickly exported into Tuscany and on to the rest of Europe.
