ARCHITECTURE. 187 
built by Bramante. On the 25th August, 1660, the corner-stone of these 
colonnades was laid, which are 1056 feet long and in the long axis of the 
ellipse 738 feet wide. The inner colonnades of the elliptical hall stand 524 
feet apart, and the colonnade wings consist of four rows of Dorie columns, 
41 feet in height, numbering 956, which support an entablature without 
triglyphs (see page 100), 9 feet 6 iehes high, surmounted by a balustrade 
6 feet high, adorned with 96 statues, 9 fest, 6 inches high. The diameters 
of the fear rows of columns, bobinniin with the innermost, are respectively 
5 feet 3 inches, 5 feet 6 inches, 6 feet, and 6 feet 3 inches, so that the rules 
of perspective and optics are regarded. In the middle of the place inclosed 
by the wings stands an obelisk 124 feet high, erected in 1556, and at some 
distance towards both sides are two great fountains. The flight of steps before 
the church (Scala regia) is the largest in the world, for the outermost steps 
are 620 feet long. It will be found interesting to consider more particularly 
the dimensions of this temple, which is paved with marble of various colors. 
Its length (jig. 1) is 657 feet, 4 inches. The length in the clear of the 
middle aisle is 565 feet, 6 inches; that of the transept 415 feet. The width 
of the middle aisle is 78 feet; that of the cross-arms 73 feet, 10 inches. 
The inner width of the dome is 125 feet, the thickness of the principal 
girths at the lower edge is 4 feet and at the lantern 3 feet, those of the 
outer cupola are 3 feet thick below and 2 feet above, and the thickness of 
the four principal pillars in the shorter diagonal is 55 feet, in the larger 
78 feet. The smallest thickness of the outer wall is 26 feet. The height of 
the middle aisle is 144 feet, and the thickness of its principal girths is 3 feet, 
6 inches. The four pairs of decorative pilasters are 78 feet high and 8 feet 
broad. From the pavement to the opening of the lantern is a height of 
310 feet, 10 inches, and to the upper part of the cap of the lantern 363 feet, 
6 inches. The diameter of the little domes of Vignola is 38 feet, 3 inches, 
and their height above the drum is 21 feet. Their openings are 192 feet 
above the floor. The church covers an area of 199,926 square feet, of 
which 52,218 square feet are occupied by the masonry, which consequently 
covers more than a third. If five square feet are reckoned to a person, the 
church and its fore halls can hold almost 29,000 persons. The church has 
the high altar not towards the east, which is very remarkable, but towards 
the west. ‘Towers were to have been erected on the facade of the building, 
and Bernini had improved the plan of Maderno and Fernambosco and the 
work was begun. They were to have been 164 feet, 6 inches high, but as 
it appeared that the foundations of the church would not bear them and as 
the walls began to crack, the completed part was removed in 1647. 
9. Tue Cuurcu San Giorcio Maceiore in Venice. Wenow come to the 
period of one of the most famous architects of the 16th century, Andrea 
Palladio of Vicenza (born 1508, died 1580), who gathered his knowledge 
from the works of Vitruvius and Alberti, and was practically instructed by 
Trissino. His finest works are in Rome, in Venice, and in his native city. 
In 1556 Palladio began the church San Giorgio Maggiore upon the island 
of Giudecea in Venice, of which pl. 46, jig. 10, gives a view, and its interior 
was completed in 1579. The first church upon this site had three aisles, 
187 
