The Cathedrals of Italy by J.W. Franklin

The Cathedrals of Italy by J.W. Franklin | With photographs by A.F. Kersting and others

There is a greater variety in the cathedrals of Italy than in those of any other country. They include such masterpieces as the cathedrals of Milan, Florence, Pisa, Siena, Parma, Monreale, Venice and of course the papal basilicas including St. Peter's in Rome. But amongst some three hundred other cathedrals there are many, like Torcello, Bari and Turin which are inconsiderable in size, and others again whose interest may not exceed that of an English parish church.

It is this very diversity, however, which makes the cathedrals so much more representative of Italian ecclesiastical architecture than are, for example, English cathedrals of English church building generally. Yet in spite of their great interest no general survey of Italian church architecture has until now been published in England for nearly half a century.

In this book J.W. Franklin has been singularly successful in elucidating a complex subject. In a long introductory section he traces the course of Italian cathedral architecture from its Early Christian origins, through the centuries of the Romanesque and "Gothic" styles, to the Renaissance and Baroque epochs, and so to Modern Times.

The main body of the book consists of a detailed history and analysis, fully illustrated by some 130 plans and photographs, of thirty-four of the most important cathedrals. There follow brief notes on those cathedrals which the visitor to Italy will find on his travels. From the numerous visits he has made to every part of Italy in recent years, Mr. Franklin has gained an acquaintance with the Italian cathedrals uncommon in English scholarship. In this book he has enjoyed the co-operation of the leading English architectural photographer, A.F. Kersting, who has taken the majority of the illustrations specially for it.

Jacket photograph: The Amalfi Cathedral by A.F. Kersting 

Details

• Hardcover with dust jacket
• Condition: Good, the jacket has signs of use but is protected in plastic, red cloth with gold gilded letters, clean, no notes/stamps 
• 1st Edition, 1958 
• Publisher: Bastford Ltd