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will give a just ratio between the size or capacity of thebuilding, and the quantity of material employed in its con-struction.

St. Peter’s.

Ft.

Area on plan.227,009

Do. of points of support 59,308Ratio of areas. 1;0261

St. Paul’s. St. Mary, Florence.

Ft. Ft.

. 84,025 ... 84,802

. 14,311 ... 17,030

1:0170 ... 1:0201

Sectional area at tran-septs.. 8,325:10000 ... 6,865:10000 ... 8,855:10000

We shall have to speak more particularly about St. Paul’spresently, but must now return to examples to be found atRome .

The great Farnese palace is probably one of the finestspecimens of Italian palatial architecture in existence, andcovers an area of 256 feet, by 185 feet, the height of thebuilding measuring 177 feet. The material of the walls isbrick, with the exception of the dressings, which are ofTravertine stone. The edifice is three stories in height, eachof which contains a range of thirteen windows, with theexception of the first, where the place of one is occupied bya doorway ; those on the first story are of a rectangular form,with architrave, and horizontal cornice, supported by ancones,or corbels on either side of the window. The doorway issemicircular-headed, with prominent voussoirs. The windowsin the next story are of a more ornamental character, beingstill of the rectangular form, but having pediments alternatelytriangular and segmental; the jambs, also, are decorated withcolumns. In the uppermost story, the windows have semi-circular heads, with columns and triangular pediments. Thestories are separated by impost cornices, and the entire build-ing crowned by a boldly projecting cornice. In the interiorquadrangle, the building surrounds a court 88 feet square,and presents a very different appearance to the exterior, beingdivided vertically into arcades. The lower arcade is of theDoric order, and is supported on piers whose sides areadorned with Doric columns, and which sustains an entabla-ture enriched with triglyphs, &c. The upper arcade is of theIonic order.

The Palazzo Giraud at Rome is by Bramante , and consistsof a range of building enclosing a quadrangle 89 feet square,the external measurements being 249 feet by 190 feet. Thefront elevation contains three stories, all of which are rusti-cated, the lowermost by both horizontal and vertical grooves,but the upper by horizontal grooves only. In the centre isa semicircular-headed door, with horizontal cornice, and oneach side of it three square windows. In the second story,the piers between the windows are ornamented with coupledpilasters, similar to those of the Corinthian order, standingon high plinths, which again rest on a podium extending allalong the building, but broken under the pilasters. Thepilasters support a simple entablature, and between them areseven semicircular-headed windows, with horizontal cornices,the archivolts resting on pilasters, and the spandrels filledwith sculpture. Above the piers of the second story, thethird story have coupled Corinthian pilasters, arranged in asimilar manner on plinths and podium. Between these aretwo tiers of windows, the lower having rectangular, and theupper semicircular heads. Above this order is the entabla-ture proportioned to the building, the frieze of which isoccupied by blocks to support the cornice. The roof hassloping sides, and is covered by hollow tiles.

In one of the shorter sides of the building is the vestibule,which is 47 feet long, by 34 feet wide, and is divided longi-tudinally into three portions by two rows of columns. Thisgives entrance to the principal court, which is surroundedby an arcade resting on piers, ornamented with half-columns, and roofed with a groined ceiling. Opposite the

entrance is a passage, the sides of which are ornamented withpilasters and niches, and which leads to a smaller court inthe rear.

The Venetian style is characterized by its pre-eminentlightness and elegance, and more especially by the frequentand almost universal employment of pilasters and arcades ;it bears altogether a more lively and decorative characterthan either of the preceding. Another feature having »similar tendency is shown in the close proximity of thewindows, and the large proportion of the elevation occupiedby apertures. San Micliaeli, or Sansovino , may be said to havebeen the founder of this school, and they were followed byPalladio, Scamozzi , &c. Good examples are, the library ofSt. Mark,Venice , the Pompeii palace, Verona, and the chapelof St. Bernardino.

The library of St. Mark, Venice, is by Sansovino , andconsists of two stories, each composed of one order, the lowerone Doric, and the upper Ionic . The lower story is raisedthree steps above the piazza, and consists of a portico oftwenty-one arches, at the back of which is a range of simi-lar arches used as shops, and opposite the central arch is amagnificent staircase leading to the library. The piers of thisstory are ornamented in front by pilasters of the Doric orderextending to the top of the arches, and carrying a nobleentablature enriched with triglyphs, and above them witha fine cornice, with dentil-band underneath. The archivoltsrest on a moulded cap or impost, and have carved key-stones which finish under the entablature. Above this is anIonic order carried upon pedestals, ranging with which, andunderneath the windows, is a balustrade, flanked by othersmaller pedestals, upon which stand small Ionic columnsplaced in the jambs to support the archivolt, the win-dows having semicircular heads. As below, the orderextends to the top of the arches, which have ornamentedkey-stones, and rest on impost mouldings ; the spandrels be-tween the archivolt and the pilasters being filled up withsculpture. The entablature to this order is very lofty, andthe frieze highly decorated with sculpture ; the cornice isbold, and highly enriched, being supported by modillions,and having a dentil-band underneath. The cornice is crownedby a balustrade, on every alternate pier of which is placeda statue, and at the angles of the building a pyramidalacroteral ornament.

In the same piazza is the Procuratie Vecchie, also by Sanso-vino . This building consists of three stories, the lowermostof which has an arcade supported on piers, and the upperones a similar arrangement on columns, the arches of thesestories, however, being so much smaller than those below, a 3to be admitted in pairs above the single ones on the ground-floor. The stories are divided by plain podia, and the wholecrowned by an entablature, with a frieze perforated at inter-vals with circular apertures.

The Pompeii palace, by Michaeli, consists of two stories,the lower one of which is rusticated throughout, the aper-tures, with door and window, having semicircular heads,without architrave or other decoration ; the doorway is i' 1the centre, having three windows on either side. Aboveeach of the apertures is a balustrade, and above these are theupper windows, which are of similar shape, but the pie 1 ' 9between them are decorated with single three-quarter columnsof the Doric order, which support an unbroken entablatureover the windows.

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Amongst the buildings of this class, we have to noticethose of an architect, whose works may be said to coinpri* 9

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a new style, and which, for this reason, have been designate*!

the Palladian style. Many opinions have existed, and do sthexist, respecting the merit of Palladio’s works, and the