The first pages of Joseph C. Williams’s recent publication on Old Molfetta Cathedral (Duomo Vecchio, or Church of San Corrado) in Apulia challenge a seemingly fundamental truth of architecture, that “no part can be added or taken away without damaging the whole” (4). The title, Architecture of Disjuncture, encapsulates this leading premise. Fragmentation, instead of unified planning, characterizes the working method and design principle of the site. Founded before 1071, the diocese of Molfetta was a suffragan see of the archdiocese of Bari. Because of its favorable location on Adriatic trade routes, this burgeoning port town experienced a building boom at around the same time as other cities on the middle coast of Apulia, where some of the most splendid examples of Romanesque architecture remain. But unlike San Nicola of Bari, which benefited from large seigneurial holdings, Molfetta Cathedral did not have funding proportional to its newfound status. Its...

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