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Bk. VIII. Ch. III.
329
Bk. VIII. C.H. Ill, CATHEDRAL AT SIENA. 329 and gorg-Uus furniture of the church, it makes up a whole of great beauty. We circular pier-arches, however, and the black and white stripes by which the exterior is marked, detract considerably from the effect of the whole -at least in the eyes of strangers, though the Italians still consider it a beauty. The fa9ade of this cathedral is 761. Fa9ade of the Cathedral at Siena. represented in Woodcut No. 761. It consists of three great portals, the arches of which are equal in size, though the centre doorway is larger than those at the sides. Above is the invariable circular wmdow of the Italian architects, and the whole is crowned by steep triangular gables.
