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Sicilian Baroque Architecture
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture which evolved on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the , when it was part of the Spanish Empire. The style is recognisable not only by its typical Baroque curves and flourishes, but also by distinctive grinning masks and putti and a particular flamboyance that has given Sicily a unique architectural identity. The Sicilian Baroque style came to fruition during a major surge of rebuilding following the massive earthquake in 1693. Previously, the Baroque style had been used on the island in a naïve and parochial manner, having evolved from hybrid native architecture rather than being derived from the great Baroque architects of Rome. After the earthquake, local architects, many of them trained in Rome, were given plentiful opportunities to recreate the more sophisticated Baroque architecture that had become popular in mainland Italy; the work of these local architects – and the new genre of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Architectural Sculpture
Architectural sculpture is the use of sculptural techniques by an architect and/or sculptor in the design of a building, bridge, mausoleum or other such project. The sculpture is usually integrated with the structure, but freestanding works that are part of the original design are also considered to be architectural sculpture. The concept overlaps with, or is a subset of, monumental sculpture. It has also been defined as "an integral part of a building or sculpture created especially to decorate or embellish an architectural structure." Architectural sculpture has been employed by builders throughout history, and in virtually every continent on earth save pre-colonial Australia. Egyptian Modern understanding of ancient Egyptian architecture is based mainly on the religious monuments that have survived since antiquity, which are carved stone with post and lintel construction. These religious monuments dedicated to the gods or pharaohs were designed with a great deal of architec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cant (architecture)
A cant in architecture is an angled (oblique-angled) line or surface that cuts off a corner. Something with a cant is ''canted''. Canted facades are a typical of, but not exclusive to, Baroque architecture. The angle breaking the facade is less than a right angle, thus enabling a canted facade to be viewed as, and remain, one composition. Bay windows frequently have canted sides. A cant is sometimes synonymous with ''chamfer A chamfer or is a transitional edge between two faces of an object. Sometimes defined as a form of bevel, it is often created at a 45° angle between two adjoining right-angled faces. Chamfers are frequently used in machining, carpentry, fu ...'' and '' bevel''. References Architectural elements Building engineering {{Architecturalelement-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spanish Steps
The Spanish Steps ( it, Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti) in Rome, Italy, climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. The monumental stairway of 135 steps was built with French diplomat Étienne Gueffier's bequeathed funds of 20,000 ''Italian scudo, scudi'', in 1723–1725, linking the Trinità dei Monti church under the patronage of the House of Bourbon, Bourbon kings of France, at the top of the steps, and the Spanish Embassy to the Holy See in the Palazzo Monaldeschi at the bottom of the steps. The stairway was designed by architects Francesco de Sanctis (architect), Francesco de Sanctis and Alessandro Specchi. History Generations of heated debate over how the steep, 29-meter slope to the church on a shoulder of the Pincio should be Urban planning, urbanized preceded the final execution. Archival drawings from the 1580s show that Pope Gregory XIII was interested in constru ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano Nobile
The ''piano nobile'' (Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ''bel étage'') is the principal floor of a palazzo. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house. Characteristics The ''piano nobile'' is usually the first storey (in European terminology; second floor in American terms), or sometimes the second storey, containing major rooms, located above the rusticated ground floor containing the minor rooms and service rooms. The reasons for this were so the rooms above the ground floor would have finer views and to avoid the dampness and odours of the street level. This is especially true in Venice, where the ''piano nobile'' of the many '' palazzi'' is especially obvious from the exterior by virtue of its larger windows and balconies, and open loggias. Examples of this are Ca' Foscari, Ca' d'Oro, Ca' Vendramin Calergi, and Palazzo Barbarigo. Larger windows than those on other floors are usu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Double Staircase
An imperial staircase (sometimes erroneously known as a "double staircase") is the name given to a staircase with divided flights. Usually the first flight rises to a half-landing and then divides into two symmetrical flights both rising with an equal number of steps and turns to the next floor. The feature is reputed to have first been used at El Escorial. One of the grandest examples, the ''Escalier des Ambassadeurs'' at the Palace of Versailles, was built by 1680 but demolished in 1752 as the palace was rearranged. The Jordan Staircase of the Winter Palace is a notable example, while other such staircases can be found at Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, Palazzo Reale di Caserta, Palacio Real de Madrid and Mentmore Towers. The advantages of an imperial staircase became apparent during the 18th century, when Matthew Brettingham revolutionised the design of the piano nobile of the London town house. Guests would proceed through a series of reception rooms arrange ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Courtyard
A courtyard or court is a circumscribed area, often surrounded by a building or complex, that is open to the sky. Courtyards are common elements in both Western and Eastern building patterns and have been used by both ancient and contemporary architects as a typical and traditional building feature. Such spaces in inns and public buildings were often the primary meeting places for some purposes, leading to the other meanings of court. Both of the words ''court'' and ''yard'' derive from the same root, meaning an enclosed space. See yard and garden for the relation of this set of words. In universities courtyards are often known as quadrangles. Historic use Courtyards—private open spaces surrounded by walls or buildings—have been in use in residential architecture for almost as long as people have lived in constructed dwellings. The courtyard house makes its first appearance ca. 6400–6000 BC (calibrated), in the Neolithic Yarmukian site at Sha'ar HaGolan, in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Carriage
A carriage is a private four-wheeled vehicle for people and is most commonly horse-drawn. Second-hand private carriages were common public transport, the equivalent of modern cars used as taxis. Carriage suspensions are by leather strapping and, on those made in recent centuries, steel springs. Two-wheeled carriages are informal and usually owner-driven. Coaches are a special category within carriages. They are carriages with four corner posts and a fixed roof. Two-wheeled war chariots and transport vehicles such as four-wheeled wagons and two-wheeled carts were forerunners of carriages. In the twenty-first century, horse-drawn carriages are occasionally used for public parades by royalty and for traditional formal ceremonies. Simplified modern versions are made for tourist transport in warm countries and for those cities where tourists expect open horse-drawn carriages to be provided. Simple metal sporting versions are still made for the sport known as competitive driving. ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became small farming compounds, which were increasingly fortified in Late Antiquity, sometimes transferred to the Church for reuse as a monastery. Then they gradually re-evolved through the Middle Ages into elegant upper-class country homes. In the Early Modern period, any comfortable detached house with a garden near a city or town was likely to be described as a villa; most survivals have now been engulfed by suburbia. In modern parlance, "villa" can refer to various types and sizes of residences, ranging from the suburban semi-detached double villa to, in some countries, especially around the Mediterranean, residences of above average size in the countryside. Roman Roman villas included: * the ''villa urbana'', a suburban or country seat t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baluster
A baluster is an upright support, often a vertical moulded shaft, square, or lathe-turned form found in stairways, parapets, and other architectural features. In furniture construction it is known as a spindle. Common materials used in its construction are wood, stone, and less frequently metal and ceramic. A group of balusters supporting a handrail, coping, or ornamental detail are known as a balustrade. The term baluster shaft is used to describe forms such as a candlestick, upright furniture support, and the stem of a brass chandelier. The term banister (also bannister) refers to a baluster or to the system of balusters and handrail of a stairway. It may be used to include its supporting structures, such as a supporting newel post. Etymology According to the ''Oxford English Dictionary'', "baluster" is derived through the french: balustre, from it, balaustro, from ''balaustra'', "pomegranate flower" rom a resemblance to the swelling form of the half-open flower (''illust ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Entablature
An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and are commonly divided into the architrave (the supporting member immediately above; equivalent to the lintel in post and lintel construction), the frieze (an unmolded strip that may or may not be ornamented), and the cornice (the projecting member below the pediment). The Greek and Roman temples are believed to be based on wooden structures, the design transition from wooden to stone structures being called petrification. Overview The structure of an entablature varies with the orders of architecture. In each order, the proportions of the subdivisions (architrave, frieze, cornice) are defined by the proportions of the column. In Roman and Renaissance interpretations, it is usually approximately a quarter of the height of the column. Varian ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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