126 ARCHITECTURE. 
Apostles, and even entire miracles. The front wall in the vestibule was 
subdivided by the main and side entrances, and its face also decorated with 
mosaic or painting. . 
The vestibule of the Romanesque church is a kind of portico, extendin 
before the entire width of the front, and resting on columns, with antique 
bases, and shafts either smooth or with very narrow spiral flutings. The 
capitals are either Ionic or Corinthian, but vary occasionally from the 
original forms of those orders. The capitals are connected in pairs by 
architraves supporting a continuous frieze and cornice, the former often 
decorated with a mosaic of differently shaded marble, red and green por- 
phyry, &c., whilst the latter is too gaudily set with modillions and foliation in 
a poorstyle. The vestibule has astraight slanting roof resting with its lower 
side on the cornice, whilst the upper is lodged in the wall of the basilica. 
The doors leading into the naves have generally very rich frames relieving 
materially the paintings on the walls between them. Sometimes a narrow 
portico supplies the place of the vestibule, as in St. Clement’s basilica in 
Rome (jig. 17), when the door leading into the interior is always of sur- 
passing splendor. In some basilicas there is neither this portico nor the 
vestibule which we have described, but a cross wall at a short distance 
from the front wall cuts off a piece of the interior, thus forming a species of 
inner vestibule which communicates with the main and side naves by three 
openings closed only with drapery. 
The side fronts of most Romanesque basilicas offer few interesting points 
except the manner of construction, the roofs of the side aisles, and their 
connexion with the transept (jig. 16). The sides of the basilicas have 
usually a row of windows, with round arches above. In southern countries 
‘the place of windows is often supplied in the frames by thin slabs of marble 
pierced with circular or lozenge-shaped holes closed with glass (jigs. 12, 18). 
The rear view of the basilica (jig. 18) exhibits usually one or more semi- 
circular attached buildings, the inclosures of the choirs. The central is 
always the largest, and has richer cornices. Windows occur but very 
rarely in the choirs. If the basilica has no transept the rear wall is profiled 
like the front, but if it is a cross basilica the roof line of the side aisles is 
horizontal (pl. 21, jig. 24). The semicircular choirs have conical roofs 
attached to the rear wall of the basilica. 
3. Tue Lytertor. The oldest Christian basilicas had naves of different 
sizes, separated by two or four rows of columns parallel to the side walls. 
They were for a long time close imitations of the Roman heathen basilicas. 
In some the straight architrave is supplanted by arches, in others combined 
with them. In the latter case the side aisles have two stories, the 
upper one being formed by a gallery, as in that of San Lorenzo in 
Rome (jig. 10). This gallery was reserved for women, and had its own 
entrance from outside the basilica. Above were the windows through 
which the church was lighted. Towards the choir the walls had arched 
openings (fig. 11). The round wall of the choir being lower than the nave 
ample room was afforded in the straight rear wall for mosaic and paintings. 
The side walls above the galleries were also decorated in this manner. The 
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