In southern Italy the design of the campanile varies again. In the two more important examples at Bari and Molfetta, there are two towers in each case attached to the east end of the cathedrals. The campanili are in plain masonry, the storeys being suggested only by blind arches or windows, there being neither pilaster strips nor string-courses. The same treatment is found at Barletta and Caserta Vecchia; in the latter the upper storey has been made octagonal with circular turrets at each angle, and this type of design is followed at Amalfi, the centre portion being circular instead of octagonal and raised much higher. In Palermo the campanile of the Martorana, of which the two lower storeys, decorated with three concentric blind pointed arches on each face, probably date from the Saracenic occupation, has angle turrets on the two upper storeys. The upper portions of the campanile of the cathedral have similar angle turrets, which, crowned with conical roofs, group well with the central octagonal spires of the towers. The two towers of the west front of the cathedral at Cefalu resemble those of Bari and Molfetta as regards their treatment.
The campanili of S. Zenone, Verona, and the cathedrals of Siena and Prato, differ from those already mentioned in that they owe their decoration to the alternating courses of black and white marble. Of this type by far the most remarkable so far as its marble decoration is concerned is Giotto’s campanile at Florence, built in 1334. It measures 275 ft. high, 45 ft. square, and is encased in black, white and red marble, with occasional sculptured ornament. The angles are emphasized by octagonal projections, the panelling of which seems to have ruled that of the whole structure. There are five storeys, of which the three upper ones are pierced with windows; twin arcades side by side in the two lower, and a lofty triplet window with tracery in the belfry stage. A richly corbelled cornice crowns the structure, above which a spire was projected by Giotto, but never carried out.
| From a photograph by Alinari. Fig. 3.—Giotto’s Campanile, Florence. |
| From a photograph by Alinari. Fig. 4.—Campanile of the Palazzo del Signore, Verona. |
The loftiest campanile in Italy is that of Cremona, 396 ft. high. Though built in the second half of the 13th century, and showing therefore Gothic influence in the pointed windows of the belfry and two storeys below, and the substitution of the pointed for the semicircular arch of the arcaded corbel string-courses, it follows the Lombard type in its general design, and the same is found in the campanile of S. Andrea, Mantua. In the 16th century an octagonal lantern in two strings crowned with a conical roof was added. Owing to defective foundations, some of the Italian campanili incline over considerably; of these leaning towers, those of the Garisendi and Asinelli palaces at Bologna form conspicuous objects in the town; the two more remarkable examples are the campanile of S. Martino at Este, of early Lombard type, and the leaning tower at Pisa, which was built by the citizens in 1174 to rival that of Venice. The Pisa tower is circular on plan, about 51 ft. in diameter and 172 ft. high. Not including the belfry storey, which is set back on the inner wall, it is divided into seven storeys all surrounded with an open gallery or arcade. (See [Architecture], Plate I. fig. 62.) Owing to the sinking of the piles on the south side, the inclination was already noticed when the tower was about 30 ft. high, and slight additions in the height of the masonry on that side were introduced to correct the level, but without result, so that the works were stopped for many years and taken up again in 1234 under the direction of William of Innsbruck; he also attempted to rectify the levels by increasing the height of the masonry on the south side. At a later period the belfry storey was added. The inclination now approaches 14 ft. out of the perpendicular. The outside is built entirely in white marble and is of admirable workmanship, but it is a question whether the equal subdivision of the several storeys is not rather monotonous. The campanili of the churches of S. Nicolas and S. Michele in Orticaia, both in Pisa, are also inclined to a slight extent.
The campanili hitherto described are all attached to churches, but there are others belonging to civic buildings some of which are of great importance. The campanile of the town hall of Siena rises to an enormous height, being 285 ft., and only 22 ft. wide; it is built in brick and crowned with a battlemented parapet carried on machicolation corbels, 16 ft. high, all in stone, and a belfry storey above set back behind the face of the tower. The campanile of the Palazzo Vecchio at Florence is similarly crowned, but it does not descend to the ground, being balanced in the centre of the main wall of the town hall. A third example is the fine campanile of the Palazzo-del-Signore at Verona, fig. 4, the lower portion built in alternate courses of brick and stone and above entirely in brick, rising to a height of nearly 250 ft., and pierced with putlog holes only. The belfry window on each face is divided into three lights with coupled shafts. An octagonal tower of two storeys rises above the corbelled eaves.
In the campanili of the Renaissance in Italy the same general proportions of the tower are adhered to, and the style lent itself easily to its decoration; in Venice the lofty blind arcades were adhered to, as in the campanile of the church of S. Giorgio dei Greci. In that of S. Giorgio Maggiore, however, Palladio returned to the simple brickwork of Verona, crowned with a belfry storey in stone, with angle pilasters and columns of the Corinthian order in antis, and central turret with spire above. In Genoa there are many examples; the quoins are either decorated with rusticated masonry or attenuated pilasters, with or without horizontal string-courses, always crowned with a belfry storey in stone and classic cornices, which on account of their greater projection present a fine effect.
(R. P. S.)
CAMPANULA (Bell-flower), in botany, a genus of plants containing about 230 species, found in the temperate parts of the northern hemisphere, chiefly in the Mediterranean region. The name is taken from the bell-shaped flower. The plants are perennial, rarely annual or biennial, herbs with spikes or racemes of white, blue or lilac flowers. Several are native in Britain; Campanula rotundifolia is the harebell (q.v.) or Scotch bluebell, a common plant on pastures and heaths,—the delicate slender stem bears one or a few drooping bell-shaped flowers; C. Rapunculus, rampion or ramps, is a larger plant with a panicle of broadly campanulate red-purple or blue flowers, and occurs on gravelly roadsides and hedgebanks, but is rare. It is cultivated, but not extensively, for its fleshy roots, which are used, either boiled or raw, as salad. Many of the species are grown in gardens for their elegant flowers; the dwarf forms are excellent for pot culture, rockeries or fronts of borders. C. Medium, Canterbury bell, with large blue, purple and white flowers, is a favourite and handsome biennial, of which there are numerous varieties. C. persicifolia, a perennial with more open flowers, is also a well-known border plant, with numerous forms, including white and blue-flowered and single and double. C. glomerata, which has sessile flowers crowded in heads on the stems and branches, found native in Britain in chalky and dry pastures, is known in numerous varieties as a border plant. C. pyramidalis, with numerous flowers forming a tall pyramidal inflorescence, is a handsome species. There are also a number of alpine species suitable for rockeries, such as C. alpina, caucasica, caespitosa and others. The plants are easily cultivated. The perennials are propagated by dividing the roots or by young cuttings in spring, or by seeds.