The Influence of Islam on the Architecture of the City of Venice

                  Reading Response   Name Institution Course Professor Date               Reading Response Howard, D. (1991). Venice and Islam in the Middle Ages: Some observations on the question of architectural influence, Architectural History 34, pp. 59-74. Howards (1991) describes the influence of Islam on the architecture of the city of Venice in early times. The San Marco church is identified as a great example due to aspects such as the delicate metalwork lanterns, the outer double domes, and the stone window grilles that are significantly similar to Islamic architecture. Furthermore, the Doge's Palace also has several Islamic similarities, including architectural dimensions such as the openness of the façades, the lozenge pattern on the upper wall, and the roofline crenellations. More so, the Venetian Palace has a close resemblance to the Arabic trading post. The palace also had features such as the double-pointed arch that showed Venetian nobility and highlighted the focus on orientalism. Consequently, a major question in the similarities viewed in the infusion of Islamic culture on Christian architecture tries to find out if there is any recognition of the different religions. Venice is significantly recognized in history based on its location as a major seaport and artistic architecture, as seen in several buildings across the city. Furthermore, being historically Christian, the architecture borrows from Islamic examples showing a relationship between the two religions and cultures at the time. These similarities show that inspiration was drawn from buildings observed in Islamic cities to develop unique buildings that could be customized to represent Venetian culture. More so, there is evidence of the impact of the high degree of culture, scientific expertise, material prosperity, and spiritual unity in the Islamic world that played a crucial role in inspiring building in Venice. Therefore, despite differences in ideology, the same symbolic architecture showed the overarching role it played in Christian-Islam relations in early history. FiveDigitCreature. (29 June, 2017). BBC Lost Kingdoms of Central America: 1 of 4 - Kingdom of the Jaguar: The Olmecs [Video]. YouTube.             The cave under investigation belonging to the Olmecs includes a painting of a presumed powerful individual who lived in the area approximately 3,000 years ago on Mexico's Gulf Coast. They are further believed ...