From Imperial Rome to the fall of Byzantium
The Golden Age of Rome has left us many works of art, mosaics, frescoes, columns, buildings, streets, aqueducts, baths, theatres and cities that bear brilliant witness to the genius of the time. Roman remains abound in Emilia-Romagna, from Bologna to Ravenna and Rimini. We could mention the Tiberius Bridge, which dates back to the year 21 A.D. and which stretches its five arches over the Marecchia in Rimini. Built in Istrian stone, it dates back to the reign of Augustus (from 27 BC to 14 AD) although it was completed during the reign of Tiberius (from 14 to 37 AD), who gave it its name. Dating from the same period, the Arch of August us (-27) is still visible in Rimini. It marks the entrance to via Flaminia, and celebrates the emperor's road improvements. After the fall of the Roman Empire, the persistence of the Christian religion made it possible to safeguard several monuments from the end of the Empire and the Byzantine period. Thus, grandiose examples of Byzantine architecture can be found in Ravenna. The city has a very beautiful group of churches dating back to the5th and 6th centuries, recognizable by the ochre bricks with which they are built. Saint-Apollinaire-in-Classe (6th century) is surely one of the most beautiful of these basilicas, but also one of the best preserved. These primitive churches were characterised by their so-called basilical plan: the church develops in length, on three parallel naves, the central one being generally wider and higher than the other two, while its upper part, bordered by windows, allows light to permeate the building. The plans of these early basilicas are reminiscent of those of ancient temples.
Romanesque and Gothic
The contribution of Lombard art is an important element in the region. Indeed, in 493, the Ostrogoth Theodoric (455-526) eliminated Odoacre (433-493) by taking over his capital, Ravenna. The Byzantines succeeded him in 540, then it was the Lombards who took Ravenna from 568 to 571 and settled permanently in the north of the peninsula. Lombard art is only decorative, but the Romanesque architecture retained a universal element: the "Lombard strip", a technique of Lombard builders. Then, Romanesque and then Gothic will make their appearance in Northern Italy. The latter is characterized in particular by religious constructions such as the Latin cross basilicas with 3 or 5 naves, of which there are many examples in Emilia.
This is thecase of the cathedrals of Modena and Piacenza, the abbey of Pomposa and the religious complex of Santo Stefano in Bologna.Gothic, which developed throughout the 12th and 13th centuries everywhere else in Europe from France, had little influence on Italian architecture. However, there is an Italian Gothic style, adapting to Latin architectural criteria, whose main features are rounded corners and a lower elevation of the buildings compared to French constructions. Northern Italy shows a continuity in the construction of religious buildings in brick from Antiquity to the Gothic period, including Byzantine basilicas. This Gothic form is reminiscent of the Backsteingotik
, or 'brick Gothic', which is found in Northern Europe and Germany, but this is a regional specificity. Bologna is a masterpiece of this Italian Gothic. The buildings around Piazza Maggiore are still there to prove it. There isthe Palazzo d'Accursio, or Palazzo Comunale, which houses Bologna's city council. The oldest is thePalazzo del Podestà, which dates back to 1200. The tower that stands out is also a masterpiece of the period: the Torre dell'Arengo. To thesouth, opposite the palace, stands the magnificent Basilica of San Petronio, with its unfinished façade. It is the largest Gothic brick church in the world! Its vault culminates at 45 metres, while it is almost 132 metres long and 60 metres wide.Renaissance, "Jesuit style" and Baroque architecture
The 14th century marks the rediscovery of ancient, classical art, considered as an example of perfection: it is the beginning of the Renaissance. The Pantheon and its dome, the triumphal arches and the immutable institution of the three orders - Doric, Ionic and Corinthian - were taken as inspiration. The plan of the churches is based on a central Greek cross plan. The Renaissance jewel of Emilia-Romagna is undoubtedly Ferrara. There is the Palazzo dei Diamanti, which is surely one of the most emblematic examples of the Italian Renaissance. Its façade is made up of 8,500 blocks of marble cut into diamond points, which give the palace its name. Its ornate pilasters that mark the corners of the building complete the splendour of the building. Today it houses the National Gallery
There arealso magnificent examples of Renaissance architecture in Rimini with the Tempio Malatestiano, in Parma with the Palazzo Ducale, as well as in minor towns such as Gualtieri and Correggio, in the province of Reggio Emilia
The style of the period of the Council of Trent, which appeared as early as 1550, continued in the 17th and 18th centuries throughout Catholic Europe. It is not a break with the Renaissance, but rather an accentuation that sets the rules; in France it is called the "Jesuit style". The churches are built according to a Latin cross plan. The side naves tend to disappear as the domes become more and more common and the organs take up more and more space. On the façades, columns and pilasters, embedded in the Renaissance, stand out, creating a luminous contrast effect. Anxious to impress, religion and its architectural expression became dramatic. This style is also found in palaces and other civil buildings. The Palazzo Boncompagni, in Bologna, by the architect and architectural theorist Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola (1507-1573), is a striking example.
However, an explosion of freedom occurred at the beginning of the 17th century: the Baroque. It is to Mannerism what the style of the School of Nancy is to the official art of the Second Empire. The classical orders are still there, but seen in distorting mirrors. Roman Baroque is a very rigorous and sometimes austere art, as in Borromini (1599-1667). It is also mischievous and fanciful, as in Le Bernin (1598-1680). The Ducal Palazzo of Modena and the Palazzo Ducale of Sassuolo are magnificent examples of Baroque in the region.
Contemporary architecture
At the beginning of the 20th century, Guiseppe Terragni (1904-1943) laid the foundations of Italian rationalism by cleverly mixing regionalism and modernism. This daring architect was also a champion of Fascism, designing the Casa del Fascio
(House of Fascism) in Como for Mussolini. With Nervi (1891-1979) and Terragni, whose work found an echo in France with Le Corbusier (1887-1965), in Germany with Gropius (1883-1969) and in the United States with Franck Lloyd Wright (1867-1959), modernism was born. A replica of Le Corbusier's Esprit Nouveau pavilion (1925) was built in 1977 in Bologna - it represented the Swiss architect's vision for the housing of the future. Completely restored, it can now be seen today as the architect dreamed it would be.Although Italy is home to many internationally renowned architects, Emilia-Romagna does not boast a profusion of contemporary buildings, being a region with an incredibly well-preserved historical heritage. However, there are a few well-known buildings that it would be a pity to miss.
The Milanese Aldo Rossi (1931-1997), founder of the "Relational Architecture" movement and theoretician (Architectura della Città
, 1966), used the classical tradition to design buildings that could be described as neoclassical. His ossuary for the San Cataldo Cemetery in Modena (1971) is probably one of his most beautiful achievements. This pierced ochre cube is reminiscent of a work by De Chirico (1888-1978), as is the Palazzo di Civilizzazione for the Universal Exhibition in Rome (EUR). Its colour makes it a perfect part of the architectural heritage of Emilia-Romagna. In this hollow cube, a steel structure and staircases make it possible to circulate between floors. The minimalist strength of the building leaves no one indifferent.More contemporary is the Enzo Ferrari Museum (1898-1988)in the centre of Modena
, located on the site of the birthplace of the founder of the famous F1 team. It stands out for its aerodynamic yellow aluminium roof, which gives it the appearance of a racing car body. It covers a huge exhibition area where the brand's emblematic models are lined up. The book is signed by the Czech Jan Kaplický (1937-2009) for the London agency Future Systems. In Bologna, you can make a detour to the MAST foundation, a cultural institute that brings together exhibition spaces, a projection room and a research centre, with a long, streamlined shape whose glasses are lit up with coloured lights at nightfall.
