C athedral or church o f Sant'A lessandro in L u cca and southern France b e in g m uch c lo s e r to the C la ssica l than th o se in E n gland. H ie C orinthian capital is essen tia lly round at th e bottom w h ere it s its o n a circular co lu m n and square at the top, w h ere it s u p p o ils th e w a ll or arch. T h is form o f capital w a s m a in ta in ed in th e g eneral proportions and outline o f Ore R om a n esq u e capital. T h is w as ac h iev e d m o st sim p ly b y cutting a rectangular c u b e and takin g tb e four lo w er c o m ers o f f at an a n g le s o that the blo ck w a s square at the top, but o c ta g o n a l at th e bo tto m , a s can b e seen at St. M ich a el’s H ild e sh eim . T h is sh ape lent its e lf to a w id e v ariety o f su p erficia l treatm en ts, so m e tim e s fo lia te in im itation o f the so u rce, but o fte n figurativ e. In Northern Europe th e fo lia te c a p ita is g en era lly bear far m ore resem blance to the in tricacies o f m anu script illum ination than to C la ssic a l sources. In parts o f France and Italy there are strong links to rhe p ierced ca p ita ls o f B yzan tine architecture. It is in the figurative ca p ita ls that th e greatest originality is show n . W hile s o m e are dep en d en t o n m anuscrip ts illustrations o f B ib lica l s c e n e s and d e p ic tio n s o f b easts and m onsters, others are liv e ly s c e n e s o f th e leg e n d s o f lo c a l sain ts. T h e capitals, w h ile retaining the form o f a square top and a round bottom , w e r e o fte n co m p re sse d in to little m o re than a b u lg in g cush ion -sh a p e. T h is is particularly the ca se on large m asonry c o lu m n s, o r o n large c o lu m n s that alternate w ith piers as at D u rh am .)
