The art of designing and building has strong relations with art. The history of designing of buildings has been in the past related with the history of art (Herndon, 2007). Most Venetian public building’s designs were driven with aesthetics together with functionality. Due to the two most important driving factors for building designs, the construction processes involved a variety of builders with the exterior faces of the buildings having fine art for aesthetic purposes. Examples of public buildings that performed their purposes and also had a variety of aesthetic art on their exteriors are: Sistine Chapel, European Gothic Cathedrals, The Parthenon, Chartres Cathedral etc.
The two main functions as it emerges from most ancient architecture are:
“The movement of the hands of the designer does not come from the mind only, but about feeling, spirit and creativity of the designer fingers, it is the creativity of the spirit” was a famous quote by Hassan Fathy, a renowned architect. Islamic architecture encompasses widely the creativity, which depends on the spiritualism and intangibility of design (Sheijani, Sheijani, & Khakpour, 2015). Islamic architecture has borrowed a number of experiences from ancient civilizations that came before them. Islamic architecture has its own unique building techniques with decorative and aesthetic elements (Bartsch, 2005). Some unique styles such as Iraqi Islamic Style are among the renowned aesthetics elements that were borrowed from earlier architecture.
During the Prophet’s era, the Islamic architecture was always based on the religion’s guiding principles (Itewi, 2007). The conditions as stipulated in the Qur’an were mostly used. This continued even during the post-prophetic era. During the post-prophetic era in Iraq, the cities of Basra and Kufa were designed with the conditions of the Qur’an as a guiding factor. The design involved the mosque being in the centre of the city, with the people living around the mosque, and the market located away from the mosque. These designs were on the basis of military construction and were Prophet Muhammad’s approach (Zin, Ladjal, Hamid, Fauzi, & Grine, 2013).
Venice is known worldwide due to architectural beauty and artistic resources. Some of these developments in Venice are attributed to the effects of trade that took place between Arabs and the Europeans. According to the Trade and Exchange in the Medieval Islamic World Article, Prophet Muhammad, of Islam religion was a driver in the trade in the area of the Red Sea and the eastern parts of the Mediterranean (Skeen, 2008). Trade in Islam, was seen as a necessity and very important lifestyle. One of the main reasons trade was important to Muslims was that through trade, pilgrimage to Mecca was able to be financed. Venetians, were intermediaries in the trade that was taking place in Asia and Europe (Apellániz, 2013). They had an empire that constituted mainly of ports and their ship. They used to carry goods such as timber, metals e.t.c that were imported from places such as India. This trade led to Venice growing rich. At this time, Islamic lands such as Egypt were ruled by ‘Mamluks’ that loved luxury and had the best of paintings, and other fancy architectural decorations and modes done on most buildings. The trade enabled painters and other artisans to record some of the cityscape.
Trade in the Islamic world led to new ideas, inventions and techniques to be exchanged. Venice first was linked with the Byzantium in the 10th and 11th centuaries which at that time influenced their architecture (Heinricher, Kahn, Kahn, & Manor, 2013). Byzantium slowly paved way to the Caliphates of Islam back from the eighth centuary onwards. In 1453 Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II had already taken charge of the trade on behalf of the muslims in Venice (Stermole, 2014). This further led to increased trading and contact of the Venetians with the muslims. Some of the results of the relationship that the Islamic traders had with the Europeans in Venice are that there were a number of influences in art and architecture of Venice. The Islamic tastes were viewed as luxirious and were most times reflected in the homes of the rich in Venice. The art and the architecture fascinated many and were admired by the Venetians who visited Islamic Lands. The culture of Venetians was also influeced by the muslims. All theses connections had left an impact in the Land of Venice. By the 19th centuary, Venice had already taken much of the ideas that came from their Islamic traders (Rayynaen, 2009).The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence that Islamic Architecture had on the Architecture of Venice.
Research Questions
Research Objectives
Research Hypothesis
HA- Islamic Architecture affected the Architecture of Venice by way of influencing the arches, decorative patterns and the domes among others, which currently exist on a number of buildings and structures in the area.
Ho- Islamic Architecture did not affect the Architecture of Venice by way of influencing the arches, decorative patterns and the domes among others, which currently exist on a number of buildings and structures in the area.
The research method was essential in determining the approach to be used in undertaking the research study.This covered the research strategy,research design,nature and sources of data,sampling frame,methods of data collection and methods of data analysis.
This study investigated the Islamic Architectural elements that are traceable in some common buildings and structures in Venice. These elements to be studied are:
This analytical research involved collecting data from;published juornals, relevant books, internet and then analysing them. The information revolved around the Architectural elements in some common buildings in Venice that can be traced back to Islamic Architecture.
This study, being largely an analytical and comparison design, with case studies of some buildings, it adopted the use of comparison and analysis of the existance of Islamic Architecture on some buildings in Venice. The main focus of the architectural elements were the arches used, decorative patterns employed and the kinds of domes that were incorporated in those buildings. Information was found from books, journals, use of internet, case studies of building, which were compared and analysed to determine the influence Islamic Architecture had on the architecture of venice.
The research design involved mainly library search. This consisted of analysing information collected from books, journals, relevant documents and also information from the internet. Photographs of buildings were also analysed to compare the types of architectural elements that originated from Islamic lands.
Venice, also called in Italian as ‘Venezia’, is a city and a major seaport and also the capital of Veneto, which is in northern Italy and Venezia, a province in Italy. Venice city is an island, and was once the core of a maritime republic (Rayynaen, 2009). Venice, is also known by the name ‘Floating City’. This is because the city is an island; it consists of small islands, 118 in number, which are connected to each other by bridges and canals. Venice played the major role of being the greatest seaport and the areas’ cultural and commercial link of Europe and Asia in the late medieval.
According to the World Population Review, Venice is known widely as a remarkable city, one of the reasons being that it is made up of 118 islands that are small and interconnected by canals and bridges. It is among the top most visited cities in the world. It is ranked 11 in Italy in terms of size. It has a population of about 270,884 permanent residents. This is according to the demographics of World Population Review. According to the UN World Urbanization Prospects, the estimated total population of Venice is at 633,000. In the 1950s, the population was about 515,000 (Nations, 2017). The growth rate of the city is estimated to be about 0.26% annual change. These estimates from the United Nations included the suburban areas adjacent to the city.
Based on the World Population Review, Tourism is viewed as one of the most common industries in the city. An estimate of about 20 million tourists visits the city of Venice every year, and this number keeps increasing. Tourists do enjoy the modes of transportation that are used in Venice. The city does not have streets for cars; neither does it have enough parking zones, as most areas are covered by water.
The analytical researchstudy involved collecting data from;published juornals, relevant books, internet and then analysing them. The information analysis involved comparing buildings of both Venetian Architecture and Islamic Architecture to determine wether there are any influences from the Islamic Architecture in the buildings in Venice. The main focus of the comparison analysis were on the arches, decorative patterns and the domes on both buildings of different architecture.
The Buildings to be discussed and compared are:
The Doge’s Palace overlooks the Piazetta of St.Mark’s Square, and is also viewed as one of the main attractions in the city of Venice (Avila, Zulueta, Mukhanov, & Sokk, 2010). The building which is also known as ‘Palazzo Ducale’ was the centre of power in the republic of Venice, for many centuaries, approximately 700 years, before the city’s fall to Napoleon. It was the home of the ruler of Venice known as the Doge. The building is now a public museum and was made so in the year 1923.
St. Mark’s Basilica was builit in the 11th centuary and is one of the highly recognizable of the churches in Venice (Denker, Wallace, & Gill, 2016). Its original location was within the complex of the Doge’s Palace, where it was built in 828. It got burned down 976 and was rebuilt in 1063.
The City of the Dead in Cairo is also reffered to as Cairo Necropolis. It is an Islamic cemetry below the Mokattam Hills in the southeasrten parts of Cairo. It is made up of tombs and mausoleum structures that cover approximately 6.4km (Rao, 2017).
Ca D’Oro, also known as House of Gold, is located in the Grand Canal in Venice. The name house of gold came by due the decorations that were originally covering the building’s walls (Hurst).
According to Museum with no Frontiers, the Madrasa of Sultan Al-Salih Naim Ad-Din Ayyub is located on al-Muill li Din Allag street, in Cairo, Egypt (Frontiers).
Venice is widely known for a lot of precious art, architecture and its location that do act as tourist attractions. The city is unique, one of the elements adding up toits uniqueness is its location in marshy waters and the intelligence that had to be incorporated to form Venice now (Giammanco, 2013). The current architecture of the city of Venice can be attributed to its history and the history of trade between Muslims and the Venetians.
Venetian Architecture has a common form of Gothic Architecture known as Venetian Gothic Architecture whose origin is dated back in the 14th centuary (Giammanco, 2013). This architecture is divided into three types; Islamic Influence, Secular Gothic and Religious Gothic. The three types of architecture came into Venice in different eras.
The first type of architecture in Venice was influenced by Byzantine. This was in the period of 900-1300.Byzantine architecture was characterized by simple and very classic, combined with shimmery textures which appear on decorations that are two-dimensional. There were also galleries that were located above the aisles, impost blocks together with a dome placed in the centre. The decorative golden mosaics were used to cover the walls, domes and the floors. Basilica San Marco is a good example of this period’s architecture.
The Islamic influenced architecture, which came in the period of 1300-1500 was the next type of architecture, and was also the first type of Gothic architecture. This architecture was highly decorated and had pointed arches. Secular Gothic had inflected arches with many decorations than being structural. Ca’D’Oro building is an example of Secular Gothic architecture, and was built in 1428. Religious Gothic came with minimal decorations and pointed arches. Santa Maria Gloria dei Frari, which was built in 1433, is an example of Religious Gothic Architecture.
The Renaissance period came later in the period of 1500-1600. Architecture in this period was characterized with arched windows, with designs that appeared more classic, incorporating geometry and columns. An example of a building that used the architecture within this period is the Doge’s Palace.
Trade was responsible for Venice’s attractive features. The city of Venice became widely known in the whole world due to its flourishing trade centres (Baez, Beers, Lawinger, & Ray, 2015). The location of Venice gave the inhabitants a great advantage over other areas in the world when it came to trading. Venice had already started trading with the Islamic lands even before Renaissance period, in the ninth centuary. In the 1200s, trading between Venice and the other areas such as Egypt, Syria, Syria, China and other Islamic lands, was at its highest. Some of the trading commodities that led to Venice’s expansion in trade were spices and textile. They exchange high quality textiles to the east for spices. The city’s ability to find fine labour and raw materials, made the manufacture and trading of high quality textiles one of the high achievements of the city’s economy during the 14th century. Another milestone that enables the city to flourish in trade was the opening of the Silk Route between Venice and the East in the 13th centuary.
According to Baez, Beers, Lawinger, & Ray, the Islamic empire had stretched over a wide area, from Spain to the borders of China into Asia. This created a great economic unit that joined together the trade of the areas of Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. Among the factors that aided the trade in this area was that there was lack of political barriers in this area. The cities of Islam needed goods from the other areas. The ease with which trade took place in the area led to new ideas, techniques and inventions in the areas to be exchanged.
Islamic architecture incorporates a wide range of religious and secular styles based on the Islamic foundations. The main Islamic architectural types are:
These four are the basis of Islamic architecture and all elements of the Islamic architecture are built with the four as guiding principles (Behnam, Atefeh, & Ali, 2013). This kind of architecture has unique elements that define it. Some of these elements include:
Arches in Islamic architecture, are important because of their symbolic importance and how they enable the construction of mosques to reflect the importance of certain attributes such as beauty, light and unity in the Muslim religion (Behnam, Atefeh, & Ali, 2013). In the early years, the mode of mosques construction was that they were open courtyards which were surrounded by a row of arches. The architecture further developed to contain a series of pillars between the arches. The meanings to these rows of arches are that they portray the division of sacred and secular areas.
Behnam, Atefeh, & Ali gave the different types of arches used in Islamic architecture. The first arches that were used in the Islamic architecture were rounded, whose origin was from the Roman and Byzantine architecture. These arches were then further developed to Horseshoe arches. Transverse arches were used structurally to span the spaces between walls and pillars. These are arches due to their structure that allow them to have their centre of gravity below the crown, were mainly used to cover large spaces. Development of tranverse arches led to the origin of Pointed arches.Thes are arches that had the advantage of being able to carry its load on the exterior supports, without having to be supported by walls. The other arches are the Multifoil arches, also called the cusped arches. It is characterised by having decorations.
Decorations and ornamentations are a common feature in the Islamic architecture. This architecture makes use of ornamental forms that include; decorated patterns, elaborate geometry, floral motifs, calligraphic inscriptions and many more. These decorations are meant to make building appear attractive and specify the building’s intentions and functions (Embi, 2012).
Canby illustrates that the floral or geometric or the forms that are interlaced together form a pattern that makes the building attractive. These ornamentations and decorative patterns symbolize the numerous powers of the eternal God. The repetitions to maintain patterns, the simplicity interconnected with complexity and precision indicates and shows that universe which is complex is the only show of the infinitely obvious and present God, Allah, as the only God. Islamic architecture uses non-figural ornaments and decorations to for decorations instead of using pictures of humans or animals.
Domes are architectural elements that are hollow on the upper part of their sphere. Domes, according to Gulru, have been found from the early era of Mesopotamia (Gülru, 2005). They were in Persia, Roman,Chinese and the ancient world.
Byzantine domes, the Ottoman Architecture had established a form of buidling that was monumental and representative (Blair & Bloom). This involved the use of wide central domes, with large diameters that were constructed on the tops of buildings’ centres.Domes were chosen and used due to their characteristics and importances in buildings. Due to their shape, they can reflect sound and create echos.
Domes appear in different types (Hassan, Mazloomi, & Omer, 2010). These include: beehive dome, braced dome,cloister dome, compound dome ,crossed-arch dome, geodesic dome among others, based on the form of structure.
Islamic architecture is characterized by some common elements that make them unique all over the world. Due to the borrowing of the Islamic architecture by other types of architecture in different parts of the world, some elements that originated from the Islamic culture and way of building can be pin pointed in many buildings. Venice has used a number of elements from Islamic architecture in some of its common buildings. A comparison of some of the common buildings in Venice and some ancient buildings in Islamic lands showed the influence of the Islamic architecture in Venetian architecture.
The architects of Doge’s Palace building had used a number of Islamic architectural elements. There are some similarities found between Doge’s Palace and Qala’un Mosque in Cairo. Some of the Islamic elements that are clearly visible in Doge’s Palace are: Pointed Arches that form a pattern, Diamond Patterned Coloured Stone, Pointed windows with glass, among others. Some of these elements are also seen in Qala’un mosque, showing the similarity these buildings have.
The building, whose architecture is mainly Byzantine, has its upper story of the façade decorated with diamonds. These diamonds formed a pattern of coloured stone (A & A, 2017). The use of a large and expansive wall on top of the two stories of the building, would portray a heavy topping on the façade. The architects’ use of the diamonds pattern had created a lightening effect. The diamond pattern, which is linear, consisted of two types of contrasting tones of encrusted stone. These two types of stone, red one which is the darker one and the Istrian one which is lighter were both imported. The red marble was imported from Verona and the lighter one from Istrian Peninsula.
Other conspicuous features of the Doge’s Palace are the arches. There was disunity between the upper story and the lower story of Doge’s Palace. This was evident on the two main facades; the lower story had a number of pointed arches, arranged in a manner to form a pattern. The upper story contained pointed windows. The other difference noted was the spacing of the arches in the lower story did not match the spacing of the pointed windows in the upper story. The courtyard of the building, the side facing San Marco Basilica, was also having the rows of pointed arches on the lower story, and the upper story having the pointed arches on the balconies.
Qala’un mosque of Muhammad Ali, had some similarities with Doge’s Palace when it came to the arches and their arrangement in the building. Mosque’s courtyard had an arrangement of pointed arches that are similar to those of Doge’s palace, the arrangement and how the upper and lower stories had arches and windows not aligned. The windows on the upper story were more in number as compared to the arches in the lower story. This exact design is evident in the Doge’s palaces main facades and the courtyard.
Arched windows, was another element of the Islamic Architecture that was evident in the Doge’s Palace. The building had pointed windows, whose shape was similar to the arched openings that were on the ground story. The origin of the windows included tracery, but it was later dropped after the fire in 1577 and was not rebuilt. The windows to the building whose shape was rounded arch on the top, was also an element that was in the Qala’um mosque. In the Qala’um mosque, these windows are evident on the higher level of the building’s walls and in the courtyard.The arrangement of these windows in Doge’s Palace to each other, the proximity to each other is also seen in the Qala’um mosque as shown in figure 4.2.3 above. The windows are closer to each other more than the arches are.
St. Mark’s Basilica is one of the famous and most recognizable churches in Venice; this is according to Avienwon Cities. Its design is a mixture of both the eastern and western building styles.This building has used a number of Islamic architectural elements; these can be compared with the buildings in the City of the Dead in Cairo, Egypt. Some features of the Islamic elements that are so conspicuous in the architecture of St. Mark’s Basilica are: the use of domes, decorative patterns and the use of arches.
Domes are a common feature in St. Mark’s Basilica. It consists of five domes, whose layout forms a pattern of a cross. Each of the domes has been supported by four great vaults whose weight is supported by four pillars. These domes had half spheres whose supports were large masonry. Each of the domes has been named; the largest dome, which is located on the cruise, is known as the Dome of Ascension. On the presbytery, lay the dome of the prophets and the dome of the day of Pentecost rest on the ship. San Juan dome on the north and the south lays the San Leonardo dome.
The Heritage and Community journal describes the City of the Dead as a unique environment with valuable architectural monuments. The monuments in this city are the ancient cemeteries of the Muslim mamluks. Most of these Islamic structures are characterized by large domes on the centres of the buildings.St. Mark’s basilica and the buildings in the City of the dead in Cairo have the similarity of having a number of domes in their architecture.
Another feature that is common in St. Mark’s Basilica that can be traced to Islamic architecture is decorations and decorative patterns. The interior side of St. Mark’s Basilica is considered more spectacular than the exterior. The building consists of marble floors that are arranged in a geometric pattern that makes it look magnificent. There is a huge usage of mosaic cover on the ceilings and walls. The building’s exterior is also decorated with mosaics and columns that are decorated. The church’s floor is a marble carpet, which is widely spread, around 2099 metres.
The city of the dead was characterised by a lot of decorations on areas of the building such as the arched accesses and entrances, tombs and the exterior part of the structures. These decorations formed patterns, which can be compared and likened to the ones in St. Marks’s basilica.
Arches and Arched entrances and accesses are common in the architecture of St.Mark’s Basilica. This is evident in the figures 4.3.1 and 4.3.3. The arches have rounded tops and are wide. The same design is also found in the structures of the city of thedead in Cairo, Egypt. Figures 4.3.2 and 4.3.4 show the top rounded arches and arched entrances. These arches contained decorations that were done in patterns.
Ca D’Oro, is a name meaning house of gold, and was derived from the building’s initial facades. The building’s colour of shimmered gold leaf had faded away with time. Ca D’Oro has a façade that is considered splendid on Venice, among the gothic architecture that exists in the city. This building had incorporated a number of Islamic architectural elements like the arches, pointed and top rounded, presence of decorative patterns such as that formed by the slender columns and the arches in between. The Madrasa of Sultan Al-Salih Naim Ad-Din Ayyub has some similarities with the house of gold. Being an islamic architectural building, there are some elements that they have in in common (Hurst).
Ca D’Oro is a highly decorated structure, there are a number of decorative patterns that are evident in the building’s structure. The quarterfoils on the columns in the first and second stories do make a pattern of decorations that attract the eye from a far. The Columns that appear on all the three floors have a pattern of spacings. The building’s interior floors are patterned with marble and mosaic. The balustrades in the two upper stories make a decorative pattern as they appear between each column.
The Madrasa of al-Salih, which was the first to be built for all four Sunni schools of Islamic law, was constructed under Sultan Al-Salih in the period of 1242-44 (Bartsch, 2005). This building constains decorations and decorative patterns in some of its structures. It contains a series of arches on its upper part of tArches in Ca’d’Oro, appear in different styles within the building. The frontal facade has arches of different sizes and shapes. The columns on the ground story have different spacings that form a pattern of alternating sizes of the arches formed on the top parts of the columns. The central arch on the frontal facade has a more rounded top as compared to the adjecent ones. It is also larger than the rest as the spacing between its columns is larger. The arches formed in the upper stories are smaller as compared to the ground story, their columns are smaller and are closely spaced. The top parts of the columns have counterfoils, that make the arches to appear more decorated as they assume the shapes of a flower. Arches on the windows of the building are pointed and appear slender as compared to the arches that are supported with columns (Giammanco, 2013).
The arches as seen in Madrasa of al-Salih, are the pointed arches. These are evident in a number of the building’s parts. The entrance and the frontal facade exhibit a nuimber of arches of different sizes with the middle one, which houses the frontal entrance being the largest one. The arches are highly decorated with mouldings that form a decorative pattern, as seen in figure 4.4.2.
Discussion, Summary And Conclusions
This chapter summarises the research findings from all the applied data collection techniques with respect to the study objectives.It brings together the conclusions and the furure areas of study. It offers a holistic understanding of the study.The purspose of this study was to investigate and analyse how theIslamic Architecture affected the Venetian Architecture by way of influencing the arches, decorative patterns and the domes among others, which currently exist on a number of buildings and structures in the city of Venice.
The findings were based on earlier stated objectives which include:
Architecture and design are seen as being interlinked as art led to architecture. Most structures in the city of Venice derived their aesthetics from art, which was partly influenced by the art from the Islamic lands. Architecture in the past was driven the two main purposes of ensuring security and power and making the Gods happy. Islamic and Venetian architecture also shared these functions.One of the driving factors to Venetian architecture being influenced by the Islamic architecture is the trade that took place between Venetians and Muslims.
Muslim’s renowned leader, Prophet Muhammad, was one of the core drivers in the trade in the area of the Red Sea and the eastern parts of the Mediterranean. Muslims had taken trade seriously and viewed it as their lifestyle. Trade helped finance the pilgrimage to Mecca, among other gains. During the trade, Venetians played the role of linking traders and supporting the trade by providing ports and ship for transport of the goods traded. Trade centres in Venice began to flourish. The history of trade in Venice began at around the ninth centuary and became established with the Islamic almonds as from 1200s.Venice mostly traded textiles as they manufactured high quality ones. The city had ready labour and raw materials for the manufacture of textiles, making it possible to trade and get spices and other commodities in exchange. This led to the city’s economy rising. The opening of the silk trade also made trade Venice flourish.
Trade in the Islamic lands was made easy by the absence of political barriers in the stretch between Spain to China. Islamic lands were ruled by luxurious rulers at this time, they build luxurious structures for themselves such as palaces. Venetians that travelled to the lands of Muslims copied some of the architectural style and brought back home. The trade eventually led to new ideas and innovations for the Venetians.The purpose of this research was to investigate the influence that Islamic Architecture had on the Architecture of Venice.
Venetian architecture came into being at around the 14th centuary.It’s known as Venetian Gothic Architecture, with Islamic, Secular and Religious influences which came in different eras. The first type of architecture was influenced by Byzantine, in the period of 900-1300. It was characterized by simple but classic designs with two dimensional decorations.Islamic architecture came in the period of 1300-1500. It was characterized with high levels of decorations and pointed arches. It was the first type of Gothic architecture. Secular and Religious Gothic came later respectively. The last period, Renaissance period came in the years of 1500-1600. It was characterized by arched windows with more classic designs that used geometry and columns.
Islamic architecture revolves around religious and secular styles. Some of the main elements that define Islamic architecture are Arches, Decorative Patterns and Domes. They are among the conspicuous elements that are evident in the architecture of Venice.Arches in Islamic architecture were constructed for the purposes of beauty and bringing light to the Islamic structures. Muslims built a series of arches to symbolize the boundaries between sacred and secular areas. Arches in the architecture of the Muslims appear in different types. The first arches, whose origin was from Byzantine architecture, were rounded on the top, these further developed in other types of arches. Other arches include; horseshoe arches, transverse arches, pointed arches, multifoil arches, cusped arches etc.
Islamic architecture is characterized with decorations and ornamentations. The ornamental forms that are commonly used in the Islamic architecture include; decorated patterns, elaborate geometry, floral motifs, calligraphic inscriptions etc. The intentions and functions of the building are specified by the types of decorations it has, according to the Islamic architecture. The use of pattern, repetition of decorations has a meaning that shows that God, Allah is the supreme. The architecture of the Muslims does not use pictures of animals or animals, but uses non-figural ornaments and decorations.
Domes are other common architectural elements that define Islamic architecture. They are hollow structures whose upper part from half-sphere. The use of domes can be traced back to the early era of Mesopotamia. They were in Persia, Roman,Chinese and the ancient world.The use of domes was common due to their characteristics of being able to reflect sound and echos due to their shape.Domes appear in different types based on the form of structure.
Conclusions
Some of the common buildings in Venice possess some elements from the Islamic architecture.Comparison and analysis of some of the common buildings in Venice and some ancient buildings in Islamic lands showed the influence of the Islamic architecture in Venetian architecture.
Doge’s Palace in Venice and Qala’un Mosque in Cairo have some similarities as they share some elements from Islamic architecture.Doge’s Palace has its upper story of the façade decorated with diamonds that formed a decorative pattern. The diamond consisted of two types of contrasting tones of encrusted stone that were imported from the Istrian Peninsula. The series of uniform arches and pointed windows that are similar to those in Qala’un mosque of Muhammad Ali, indicate the influence of the architecture in Venice.
St. Mark’s Basilica and the City of the dead in Cairo, Egypt, also have some similarities that are Islamic in origin.St. Mark’s Basilica consists of five domes, whose layout forms a pattern of a cross. The domesare supported by four great vaults whose weight is supported by four pillars. The structures in the City of the Dead in Cairo are characterized by large domes on the centres of the buildings. The two structures also possess some series of decorations on their interior and exteriors. The similarities in arches and windows also show the use of Islamic architecture on both structures of different places.
Ca D’Oro and The Madrasa of Sultan Al-Salih Naim Ad-Din Ayyub also share some similarities in their architecture. The highly decorative patterns, decorations of marble and mosaic on floors and walls and the patterns made by the series of columns and balustrades that add to the decorative patterns in Ca D’Oro. These decorations are evident on the arches, arched entrances and sides of the minarets of the Madrasa of al-Salih. There are also similarities of arches on both buildings.
Areas of Further Research
The study largely dealt with the comparing some common buildings in Venice and in the Islamic lands to highlight the similarities these buildings could have. These was then used to show the influence of Islamic architecture on the architecture of Venice.
Scope for further research exists in the influenceof materials such as Ceramics in the architecture of Venice. Ceramics use in Venice is believed to be from the middle east and can add to the influece of Islamic architecture to Venetian architecture.
References
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