Scarsella (architecture)

In architecture, the scarsella is a small apse with a rectangular or square plan which protrudes outside the main structure.

We have an example of this in the Baptistery of Florence which, initially built with an octagonal plan, was then equipped with a rectangular construction attached to the original building.

Another medieval scarsella is that of the Cappellone degli Spagnoli in Santa Maria Novella, also in Florence, which served as a model for Filippo Brunelleschi to design the plans of the Sagrestia Vecchia of San Lorenzo and of the Pazzi Chapel.

This scheme proved to be successful and was actively used by the great architects of the Renaissance, especially for centrally-planned buildings.

An early example of a monumental scale is the Basilica of Santa Maria delle Carceri in Prato designed by Giuliano da Sangallo in which the presbyteral area composes a sort of large scarsella.