Lisieux, L'Eglise Saint Jacques

Here we're looking at a taper from the back end - the street becomes wider in the distance, as it nears an impressive church.

The street actually widens where another street joins it from the left, and probably widens again where a street joins from the right (notice the stroke of sunlight).

This view is considerably affected by the slope of the hill - we're looking up a moderately steep hill. This makes the church even more imposing. In fact, the siting of churches on hilltops is quite common, undoubtedly for precisely this reason. (City halls also favor this location, and it is not unusual for a church and a city hall to share a square at the top of a hill.)

Camillo Sitte was at some pains to explain the importance handling intersections at ridge lines with care, as otherwise was often presented with the disturbing sight of a person with his lower extremities apparently cut off. In similar fashion, buildings whose base cannot be seen are also subtly disturbing.

 

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