[M.12L]                                                               [M.12]	Milan.  St Ambrogio.	12
                                                                      
                                                                      		It is curious that in St Ambrogio there seems to be absolute fear
                                                                      		of giving the piers the slightest overhanging charge of weight
                                                                      		: the arch mouldings are either equal to them, or shrink
[diagram]                                                             		within them:  The only thing approaching to an excess is the
This capital has therefore something                                  		section of the three arches which form the second story of
like work in bearing the angle                                        		the entrances:  (there are five arches altogether, but two
of the subarch.                                                       		almost concealed behind the aisles)  Round the atrium
                                                                      		the pilasters of the main piers have capitals which bear
                                                                      		the cornice shaft:  but the two entrance piers have capitals
                                                                      		only to their [diagrams]:  their face pilasters run up unbroken to
                                                                      Banded capitals	the cornice which goes round the whole court:  only when
                                                                      substitute for	they pass the other capitals, they each have a square medallion
                                                                      		containing two animals carved more flatly and simply than
                                                                      		usual, to prevent the disjunction of the pier ornament.  and
                                                                      		yet without breaking on the simplicity of the pilaster.  Above them
                                                                      Piers		the cornice of course intervening come the piers of the second
                                                                      		story.  fig 1 p 33 N. The shaded section is the pier below
                                                                      		the capital: substituting the dotted line for the [diagram] we have
                                                                      		that above the capital, the outer line being the capital itself *
                                                                      		The faces ab cd are richly carved, and form the archivolt
                                                                      		as also a2 b2; a2a forms continued upwards, the cornice
                                                                      		shaft:  The stone work of the curved  voussoirs ab , cd is very
                                                                      		narrow in proportion to the width of the arch, and the brick work

[Version 0.05: May 2008]