CODUSSI, Mauro
(b. ca. 1441, Bergamo, d. 1504, Venezia)

San Zaccaria: Façade

1450-1500
Photo
Campo San Zaccaria, Venice

Codussi designed the towering façade of San Zaccaria, the interior of which was still Gothic in design, by taking into account the pre-existing lowest story, a sort of pedestal with rectangular paneling. On this he superimposed five stories in the new classical style. The proliferation of windows of differing sizes and proportions, the superimposition of orders utilizing different numerical systems between the second and third floors, and the stumpy proportions of the Corinthian colonnade on the fifth floor produce an effect of irregularity and improvisation. The lofty central arched pediment at the top and the quarter-circles mask the roofline on either side.