636 



CIVIL ARCHITECTURE. 



coo tmiMi 



Practic*. thit deviation without any good cause ; the same objcc- 

 ^" "V* tion is more palpably evident in the colonnade which en- 

 compasses the pedestal of the dome ; here the columns 

 are placed in pairs, and there is a break over each pair 

 by which their connection with each other M totally in- 

 terrupted. In the great order, the pediment, instead 

 of being rendered a bold feature, by extending over the 

 whole space where columns are introduced, and thereby 

 affording room for sculpture, ( the only purpose, in a 

 square front, which renders a pediment admissible), is 

 confined to four columns only, a thing unfit even hi a 

 private dwelling. Instead of preserving tin- face of the 

 building plain and simple, to accord with its great out- 

 Too many lines Bad gigantic order, the entrance doorways are of 

 until parts, various dimensions and shapes, and the whole building is 

 covered with small tablets, and perforated with small 

 windows, even the dome itself, circumstances much to be 

 regretted. With regard to the nature of the construc- 

 tion of the masonry of St Peter's, we are informed by 

 Rondclet, an eminent French architect, that the outside 

 of the walls is composed of a thin coating of cut traver- 

 tine stone, that the middle is lined with bricks covered 

 with stucco, and the space between filled with small ir- 

 regular rubble stone mixed with mortar, that the counter- 

 forts are of cut stone, and that the ardour of Bramante 

 hurried on the work with so much precipitation, with- 

 out taking effectual measures to unite the different parts, 

 and prevent unequal sinking, that by the time the four 

 first arches had been completed, considerable fractures 

 made their appearance ; that the architects who suc- 

 ceeded him, not being aware of the real cause of the frac- 

 tures, nor considering that two of the pillars were pla- 

 ced upon the foundation of the circus of Nero, and the 

 other two upon earth softened by the water from the ad- 

 jacent sloping ground, thought only of increasing the 

 points of support. San Galio, an unprincipled builder, 

 who was brought from Florence, enriched himself by 



erforming the work very imperfectly ; and even under 

 ichael Angelo, the walls were filled with irregular 

 stones, without carr, arrangement, or ties. These are 

 the true causes of all the fractures of the dome, &c. 

 Indeed the architects, instead of studying the solidity 

 and connection of the work as engineers, acted as 

 painters, chiefly intent upon the appearance and decora- 

 tions. 



From these public works we shall next proceed to the 

 private dwellings of that zra, and, as the best authority, 

 we shall select three specimens from Palladio, all of 

 which will be found in Plate CLXXVII. Figs. 1. and 

 2. represent the plan and elevation of a town house, the 

 lower rooms are in part sunk, and also rise 5 feet above 

 the ground ; over these are two principal stories, the 

 lower of which is, in front, of the Doric, the upper of 

 the Ionic order ; in the lower of these a portico is ex- 

 tended along the whole front, and all the apartments 

 have their ceilings vaulted ; in the upper story the hall 

 is in the middle of the front, and on each side there is 

 a lofty vestibule. A great proportion of this edifice is 

 occupied by halls, vestibules, stairs, and porticos ; it is 

 evidently fit only for a warm climate. The two or- 

 ders being continued along the front without unnecessary 

 breaks, and there being two regular rows of pretty lof- 

 ty windows with flat tops, preserve an air of simplicity, 

 but the upper row ought to have been higher, for there 

 M too much dead wall over them. 



Pig*. 3. and Figs. 9. and 4. represent the plan and elevation of a 



i. modtrttrly i/ed house in the suburbs of Vicenza. It 



was built by Palladio in a fine situation for Signer Al- 



Private 

 dwelling! 

 in Italy, 

 from Pal- 

 ladio. 



PUTI. 



ILXXV11. 



Practice. 



Houx in 

 the suburb] 

 of a city. 



Villa in th( 

 country. 



PttTC 



CLXXVII. 



Figt. . and 

 6. 



merico ; it has been much admired, and Mereworth 

 castle in Kent was built upon the same model by Colin 

 Campbell in 1723 ; the four vestibules have a fine effect, 

 and the circular hall, with four entrances, is simple and 

 elegant. In a square of 80 or 90 feet, four large, and 

 an equal number of smaller apartments, may be obtained 

 upon one floor ; there is plenty of space for domestic 

 offices below, and the same for bed-rooms above the 

 principal story ; the small triangular stairs without 

 light, are objectionable ; but as they are only for 

 communicating with bed-rooms, the inconveniency is 

 the less ; those to the lower story may have borrowed 

 lights. 



Figs, 5. and 6. represent the plan and elevation of a 

 villa designed by Palladio upon the lin-nta, for Sieur 

 Moconico, a Venetian noblemen ; it consists of a square 

 encompassing a court, in which is a peristyle consist- 

 ing of two heights of columns, the lower of the Ionic, 

 the upper of the Corinthian order. From each external 

 angle of the square is projected a circular portico, which 

 connects with the offices. The principal entrance has 

 a bold projecting portico of eight columns of the Com- 

 posite order, 4-0 feet in height, and crowned with a pe- 

 diment ; behind the columns are pilasters 2 feet broad 

 and l~> inches thick, which support an open gallery at 

 the height of the principal story. In the middle of each 

 external side there is a porch or loggia, formed each by 

 four columns and two pilasters, standing in a line with 

 the outer wall ; these rise also to the height of the side 

 walls, and are crowned with pediments. In the back 

 front eight semi-columns are attached to the wall. On 

 this side of the square there is a saloon or oecus 60 feet 

 long and 30 feet broad, which is divided by two rows 

 of eight columns each ; over this, in the upper story, is 

 a hall of the same dimensions, but without columns. 

 The principal stair is in the peristyle of the inner court, on 

 the side opposite to the great entrance. This edifice is in 

 the style of the most magnificent Italian villas, and be- 

 ing the work of the ablest architect which that country 

 has produced, must be admitted as a perfect specimen ; 

 the elegance of the elevation, however, appears injured 

 by the smallness of the windows, and by the height being 

 divided by a clumsy cornice ; the roof also appears too 

 heavy for the general airiness of character, and the ele- 

 vations of the ends of the wirtgs or offices are much too 

 mean. 



Although our limits will not permit us to adduce more I.it of Ita 

 specimens of the Italian architecture, we shall, in order "'an archi. 

 to afford the reader a more comprehensive view of the '"!' au 

 rapid and extensive progress which the Roman archi- 

 lecture made in the course of two centuries, subjoin a 

 list of the most celebrated Italian architects, with a state- 

 ment of the principal works in which they were enga- 

 ged. 



FILIPO BRUNELLESCHI, lorn 1377, died 1444. His 

 works and designs were as follow : 



Church of Santa Maria del Fioro, at Florence. 

 Sagresty, and great part of the church of St Lorenzo. 

 The Capitolo de Pazv.i in Santa Croce. 

 The Church Degli Angoli, an octagon, for the family 



Degli Scolari. 



Model of the palace for Cosmo de Medici. 

 The palace Pitti, up to the second row of windows. 

 Model of the Casa dc Busini. 

 Model of the house and logfne dcgli Innocenti. 

 The portico of the Hospital de Convalcscenti. 



