September, 1 9 2 2 
41 
THE STREET SIDE OF AN ITALIAN HOUSE 
The Italians had a habit of building their 
houses directly on the roadway and pre¬ 
senting to that public street a facade that 
indicates little of the life inside. Shuttered 
'windows on the second floor and windows 
protected by grilles on the ground floor of¬ 
fer, with the entrance door, a rather forbid¬ 
ding aspect to the passer-by. This custom is 
especially well shown by the Villa Dante 
Alighieri, on the Street of the Scissors, near 
Florence. Contrasting with this fagade is 
the friendly and colorfid arrangement of the 
house on the sides which face the garden and 
interior court, as shown on pages 54 and 55 
