CHAPTER 14
On the Origins of Concordian Gothic
Even before the first stone of St Eco’s was laid, the Cathedral’s singular aspect atop Monte Nero made it unique. Most of Etruria’s great cathedrals were built in urban settings, which placed restrictions on construction. Free of these considerations, the Opera del Duomo of St Eco’s decided to forgo scaffolding in lieu of the large ramps used by the Ancients. This is just one of the ways that the Curia’s plans reflect the rebirth of interest in the Etruscans. They were inspired by newly translated texts that revealed that the sun-bleached temples still standing in the remote pastures of our contato4 had once been full of colour. Consequently, it was decided that St Eco’s façade should blend coloured marble with playful ornament.
Given the contemporary pace of discovery and innovation, St Eco’s architects assumed that the ambitious dome they sketched would be possible by the time the walls to support it were built.5 The Curia intended St Eco to proclaim Concordian superiority to all Etruria. They were to be disappointed. As successive capomaestri grew to manhood and sank to senility, the cathedral’s walls grew ever more elaborate, but not a braccia taller. St Eco, the domeless cathedral, became instead a byword for Concordian hubris.