Architecture and the Genres of History Writing in Ecclesiastical Historiography

Abstract

In 1588, the year he was made archbishop of Monreale like his uncle Ludovico primo before him, Cardinal Ludovico secondo de Torres published the Decrittione del real tempio, et monasterio di Santa Maria Nuova di Monreale under the name of his secretary Giovanni Luigi Lello.1 De Torres was an important clergyman who stood in close contact with Cesare Baronio and Filippo Neri but also, for instance, with the poet Torquato Tasso. He produced an important oeuvre on church history, liturgy, and institutional history.2The thirty-three-page-long description of the Descrittione very briefly introduces the construction of the cathedral of Monreale, just south of Palermo, before leading the reader through the nave to the crossing, and from there to altar area, choir, the tribune, transept, and transept chapels. After a short description of the floor, the attention turns to the famous mosaics in the nave. In a fifteen-page enumeration, these mosaics are listed by their inscriptions. The description then deals with the “paradise” or portico, the gates, adjacent squares and streets, and the church exterior. Then follows a three-page enumeration of the church’s measures, arranged from large to small. The text returns to the interior to describe the altars, baptismal font, and the tombs in the church. After a remark on the light in the church, follows a description of the monastery. The text concludes by indicating the road to Palermo.As an architectural description, the Descrittione is qui [...]