As I mentioned yesterday, the Rialto bridge area is one of my favorite places in Venice. So, when it came time for our Campo Assignment, I automatically knew which campo I would choose: Campo San Giacomo di Rialto. Located just past the hustle and bustle of the Rialto Bridge, Campo San Giacomo di Rialto is a surprisingly peaceful location despite its proximity to one of Venice’s most popular attractions. This square interests me because it contains a lot of history, is extremely close to Venice’s market, and is right by the water. Although this campo is surrounded by many shops, its main building is the Church of San Giacomo di Rialto, one of the oldest churches in Venice. In the middle of the square, there is a small fountain that has incredibly fresh water; people often stop here to get a quick drink.
During my time here in Venice, I have learned the value of understanding how small aspects of an element contribute to the overall function and meaning of the item as a whole. With that in mind, I will be identifying and analyzing the details in the architecture of Campo San Rialto in an effort to understand the value of the architecture in the function of the square.
First, the campo, defined as the open space in the center of a Venetian parish, is enclosed on three sides with buildings. However, each of these sides act as a portico, or an open colonnade attached to a building on one side. These structures provide a covered walkway in between the open square and tiny cafés.
Next, let's look at the elements of the prominent church in the campo.
The top of the church exhibits several aedicules, where the framing of the opening with columns supports an entablature or pediment. Also on top of the church, in the structure containing the bells, two triangular pieces known as pediments are present. In the middle of the two pediments, there is a segmental pediment, which has a curved upper edge. These elements are characteristic of classic architecture and were developed in ancient Greece.
This church also contains an oculus, or circular window. Between the two circular windows, there is a thermal window. Thermal windows are large, lunette-shaped windows which are divided into three sections by two vertical supports or mullions. There are also two visible lunettes or semicircular windows.
Above the large clock, one can see a tondo or decorative panel. The church has another tondo, displaying a cross on a coat of arms, by its door.
On this building, adjacent to the church, a dog-tooth molding or type of zigzag carved stone ornament can be seen near the roof.
Moving on, this campo is a great example of the use of arches in early Italian architecture. This picture is an example of a barrel vault, which is a continuous semicircular vaulted roof. The upper curve of the arches in the photo are extrados, and the inner rim of the arches are intrados.
Campo San Giacomo di Rialto has many calles, or narrow streets, leading out of it.
Many of these connect to fondamentas or waterside streets, which offer picturesque views of a rio or Venetian canal.
This window balcony exhibits a corbel, which is the block projecting from the wall that supports the beam.
In contrast to American culture, an Italian’s typical living story in a building is the second floor or piano nobile. The panterreno, or ground floor, is not used for the living space due to the high incident of flooding in Venice.
Furthermore, this campo has two different orders displayed on the capitals, or heads of columns or pillars. First, the pillars supporting the church exhibit the Corinthian order of classical architecture; the leaves on these pillars’ capitals classify the order as Corinthian, which is of Greek origin. In contrast, the other pillars in the square are of the Doric order. These classic columns have a simple capital and entablature without the decorations characteristic of the Corinthian order.
Many of these pillars are considered piers because they are strong supporting structures. Some are actually pilasters, because they project only slightly from the wall and serve the purpose of decoration rather than support.
Based on the singular use of the Corinthian order on the pillars used to form a portico with the church, and the continuation of the portico with the building adjacent to the church, one can deduce that these particular columns and the portico were added to the campo later, when the Corinthian order was more prevalent. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that the campo is home to one of Venice’s oldest churches, which was arguably one of the first structures in the square.
Now, with the major architectural details of the square identified, I can understand that the campo is Romanesque architectural style with an early Gothic influence. Characterized by semi-circular arches and sturdy piers, Romanesque architecture was widespread in Medieval Europe, eventually developing into Gothic architecture.
In the past, this campo had a town crier who made public announcements. He or she was extremely important to the spread of knowledge and ideas in Venice because this was the main means of communication. Many common people did not know Latin, the primary language used because of its link to the church, so the town crier’s use of the vernacular was impactful on the thoughts and actions of the public.
In present day, this campo is used as a gathering place for tourists and children after school. It also acts as a walkway to the market and houses the occasional street performer. I believe the campo’s simple, Romanesque architecture allows the space to function as an activity center. It’s beautifully simplistic buildings give people the ability to enjoy the space of the campo without focusing entirely on the church and surrounding buildings. In contrast, in a campo with Renaissance or Baroque architecture, people will devote more of their time and attention to the buildings instead of activities in the campo.
Overall, this activity has made me more interested in and affectionate towards my campo. It is one of my favorite places to go in Italy, especially early in the morning. Furthermore, it has helped me in viewing the campo in a new way, as a heterotopia. The vast history in Venetian architecture functions as a reflection into the past. In both the past and present, the campo had other major purposes aside form the church and architectural admiration. This assignment has helped me understand how different styles of architecture, especially Romanesque, affect the function of an area, simply through their presence.
Although my campo did not portray the transition from Medieval to Renaissance in its architecture, it is clear that there is a significant difference between the two. In lecture and the readings, we learned about paradigm shifts. Thomas S. Kuhn in his work, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, states that “when paradigms change, the world itself changes with them” (11). During the Medieval period, progress was made in a liner fashion until a theoretical wall was hit and progress plateaued. With no more progress in the Medieval way of thinking, a paradigm shift occurred, bringing about the Renaissance. The Renaissance contained a new way of thinking- a new paradigm. Containing many new ideas and information, the Renaissance caused a worldwide change. For instance, in the Medieval period the division between human and nonhuman was not very defined. But, during the Renaissance, new methods were brought to light, such as progress in philosophy and human anatomy, aspects which define the human both physically and intellectually.
I enjoyed learning about the history and architecture of the Campo San Giacomo di Rialto. The structure of elements helps me understand the architectural style, which in turn helps me to look at the campo as a heterotopia. The transition between paradigms in history is easier now to visualize and apply to Venice, and ultimately the development of humans.
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