DECEMBER 2007 » book review

Monuments to Christianity

Cathedrals of the World
by Graziella Leyla Ciagà
White Star Publishers, Italy and New York, 2006
Distributed in the U.S. and Canada by Rizzoli International Publications
216 pp.; hardcover; numerous color images; $19.95
ISBN 978-8-8544-0178-5

Great Cathedrals
by Bernhard Schütz
Abrams, New York, 2002
472 pp; hardcover; 226 color images, plus numerous b&w photos
and floor plans; $110
ISBN 978-0-8109-3297-5

Reviewed by Martha McDonald

Cathedrals of the World and Great Cathedrals cover similar subjects, basilicas and cathedrals, in a similar manner, with breathtaking color photos accompanied by informational text and floor plans. The differences lie in the organization and size of the books, the depth of the information and the quality of the photos.

Bernhard Schütz' Great Cathedrals focuses on Gothic structures in France, Germany, England, Italy and Spain. Published in 2002, it is a comprehensive presentation of the subject, providing information on architectural history of each country as it relates to the cathedrals, as well as descriptions, floor plans and photos of individual cathedrals. The large book (11 x 13 in.) weighs eight pounds, making it suitable for the coffee table or library shelf, but not for carrying around for casual reading. Great Cathedrals is the latest edition of Schütz' work, which spans several decades.

Graziella Leyla Ciagà's Cathedrals of the World, on the other hand, spans a longer time period and broader range of countries. It is also a beautiful book, but it is a smaller format – 8 in. wide x 15 in. tall – and a bit less grand. The author has arranged the information chronologically, starting with "From Early Christian Romanesque" and Sant'Apollinare in Classe, built in the 6th and 7th centuries in Ravenna, Italy, and going through "The Twentieth Century." This final chapter includes sections on churches such as Oscar Niemeyer's Metropolitan Cathedral (1959-1970) in Brasilia, Brazil; Kenzo Tange's St. Mary's Cathedral (1961-1964) in Tokyo, Japan; and others, ending with Renzo Piano's San Pio da Pietrelcina (1991-2004) in San Giovanni Rotondo, Italy.

Ciagà includes 36 buildings in 12 countries in Europe, Asia and America that were built over a period of 15 centuries. Schütz also includes 36 buildings, but keeps the focus on Medieval structures in five European countries.

Both books are well organized and well presented, but Schütz' is more comprehensive. In his introduction, Schütz addresses the question of "What is a cathedral?" "For many," he writes, "'cathedral' is synonymous with 'Gothic.' A cathedral, regardless of country or age, is the seat of a bishop or archbishop, and of the clergy attached to this church."

The book is then arranged by country. Each begins with a full-page map showing the locations of the cathedrals discussed and several pages of the architectural history for the country, as it relates to cathedrals. Each cathedral is then discussed in great detail, including the history of the church as well as the architecture, and each cathedral is shown in drawings, floor plans and beautiful four-color photographs. The first section on France, for example, includes the cathedrals at Amiens, Beauvais, Laon, Reims, Paris, Chartres, Bourges and Strasbourg.

In the section entitled "Germany and Neighboring Countries (The Former Holy Roman Empire)," Schütz includes cathedrals in Basel, Switzerland and Speyer, Worms, Mainz, Cologne, Bamberg and Naumburg in Germany, as well as Prague in the Czech Republic. The appendix includes information on architectural terms, including illustrations, a bibliography, an index and photo credits. Ciagà's introduction explains how these "monuments to Christianity" were selected, noting that they "set the standard not just in their own historical period, such as Hagia Sophia in Constantinople or Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, but also in the centuries that followed…." Each of her chapters starts with an overview of the era and then moves to the individual cathedrals and basilicas. "From Early Christian to Romanesque," for example notes that "The origins and initial spread of Early Christian and Byzantine art are closely linked to the historical events of the Roman Empire and the gradual spread of Christianity. Indeed, early Christian architecture developed in the empire's western territories from 313 onward when Emperor Constantine proclaiming the edict of Milan…."

Full-color photographs bleed off the pages of both books, but those in the Schütz book – including photographs by Albert Hirmer, Florian Monheim and Joseph Martin – are consistently beautiful, while those used in Ciagà's book were provided by the churches and associated organizations. Some are very fine, but others are less than outstanding.

The two books work well together. Ciagà's is more of a primer, while the Schütz book provides rich, detailed information. One useful feature of Ciagà's Cathedrals of the World is a chart that provides pertinent information for each cathedral, making it easy to make comparisons. It includes information such as the location, style, architect, square footage, type and when the cathedral was built.

The tall narrow format (8 in wide x 15 in. tall) of Ciagà's book is suitable to showing off the buildings. My one complaint is that the text is a little hard to read. It's a sans-serif font and it's a bit too light. Also, one must turn the book on its axis to read the summary captions at the beginning of each section. That small note aside, this is a worthwhile and beautiful book that focuses on an important segment of architecture.

Those looking for more history and detail will turn to Schütz' Great Cathedrals, which is encyclopedic, a valuable and beautiful reference book for anyone with an interest in cathedrals and Christian church history. TB

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