The Architecture of the Riviera and Pi ovence. By D.
Macgibbon. (Douglas, Edinburgh.)—Provence, the home of that exquisite and fantastic chivalry, the natural growth of the warlike yet warm and sunny South, abounds in an architecture, rich and varied, dating from the Greek colonists of two thousand years ago. Mr. Macgibbon was delighted with the iimmnerable buildings, which display, in addition to one prominent characteristic, the traces of Roman, Greek, Italian, Moorish, and Mediaeval art in all shades and varieties. Among the three hundred illustrations with which the writer enriches the story of his wanderings in Provence and the Riviera, striking machicolations, beautiful cloisters, and fortified churches, which at once recall the golden age of Southern France and the Troubadours, seine specimens of special magnificence occur. About these Mr. Macgibbon grows enthusiastic. We would point out the porches of St. Gilles, Arles, and Taasocon, the splendid cloisters of Elm, Fr6jus, Arles, St. Sauveur, and those still more remarkable in the castle of St. Honorat ; the great fortresses of Carcassonne and Aigues Mortes, surpassing all others in Europe in size, in interest, and in preservation; and the peculiar aspect of the streets. Nor must we forget Narbonne Cathedral, perhaps the greatest triumph of Gothic fourteenth- century art. Mr. Macgibbon guides us through the various influ- ences at work on Provencal architecture with great skill and knowledge, qualified by much generous admiration. We can imagine no more fascinating book for the lover of early medieval art than this handsome and beautifully illustrated volume.
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