CMP Review 2024-11-18

November 18, 2024

“Many of us begin our first acquaintance with Giotto in Florence, with his beautiful Campanile—the ‘Lily of Florence,’ … although the Campanile was the last great work he undertook and he died before it was finished. His design was altered by the builders, and the spire never added. But no one can come suddenly upon that graceful towering piece of quivering marble without feeling the shock of its beauty. The first time I saw it was in the winter. The sky was brilliantly blue, the winding street cold and dark. All I knew was that round the next bend I should see Giotto’s tower. The bend came, and I stood still. Forgotten were the slushy street, the bitter wind, the weight of my bag and the grumbles of my companion.

“‘A swaying lily,’ I thought, and it was some moments before I could be induced to move on and come near. That first pilgrimage round the outside of what must surely be the most lovely collection of buildings in Italy is an unforgettable experience. The glowing pink and cream of the marble, the brilliant green and grey of the gates, the facade, the loggia, the Duomo, and the Campanile itself—often I mentally walk round them all, and hear the jangle of the trams and the jumble of all the other noises that surge around and yet seem to make their eternal calm more silent still. Silence and noise…

“When you go to Florence, walk round and round this tower. Think about the difference between the grey stone of these sculptures and the marble setting. Think about their simplicity. What a work of genius to put these almost rough figures in this smooth setting, at the base of this slender column that calls the Florentine to prayer! ‘All the works of the Lord praise the Lord,’ and here they are, offering their silent testimony to His goodness beneath the pealing bells.”

— E. C. Allen, PR49, “Giotto”

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