The Five Orders of Architecture
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''The Five Orders of Architecture'' (''Regola delli cinque ordini d'architettura'') is a book on classical architecture by
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola ( , , ; 1 October 15077 July 1573), often simply called Vignola, was one of the great Italian architects of 16th century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Churc ...
from 1562, and is considered "one of the most successful architectural textbooks ever written", despite having no text apart from the notes and the introduction. Originally published in Italian as ''Regola delli cinque ordini d'architettura'', it has been fully or partially translated in English with different titles, including ''Canon of the Five Orders of Architecture''; ''Rules of the Five Orders of Architecture''; ''Vignola: an elementary treatise on architecture comprising the complete study of the five orders, with indication of their shadows and the first principles of construction''; ''The Five Orders of Architecture according to Giacomo Barozzio of Vignola, to Which are Added the Greek Orders''; and ''The five orders of architecture, the casting of shadows and the first principles of construction based on the system of Vignola''.


Contents

The book tackles the five orders, Tuscan,
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
, Ionic,
Corinthian Corinthian or Corinthians may refer to: *Several Pauline epistles, books of the New Testament of the Bible: **First Epistle to the Corinthians **Second Epistle to the Corinthians **Third Epistle to the Corinthians (Orthodox) *A demonym relating to ...
, and
composite Composite or compositing may refer to: Materials * Composite material, a material that is made from several different substances ** Metal matrix composite, composed of metal and other parts ** Cermet, a composite of ceramic and metallic materials ...
in separate sections, each subdivided in five parts on the
colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or cur ...
,
arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...
, arcade with
pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...
, individual pedestals, and entablatures and capitals. Following those 25 sections were some less related parts on cornices and other elements. Written during the 1550s, it was published in 1562, and was soon considered the most practical work for the application of the five orders. Apart from the introduction, the book existed solely of 32 annotated plates, with views from the
Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...
illustrating the Corinthian order and the
Theatre of Marcellus The Theatre of Marcellus ( la, Theatrum Marcelli, it, Teatro di Marcello) is an ancient open-air theatre in Rome, Italy, built in the closing years of the Roman Republic. At the theatre, locals and visitors alike were able to watch performances o ...
for the Doric order. Later editions had more illustrations.


Author

Vignola was an Italian
Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
architect, assisting Michelangelo during his work on the
St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...
. He was one of the architects of the
Palazzo Farnese Palazzo Farnese () or Farnese Palace is one of the most important High Renaissance palaces in Rome. Owned by the Italian Republic, it was given to the French government in 1936 for a period of 99 years, and currently serves as the French emb ...
and the
Church of the Gesu Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...
. Following the examples of the Classical Roman work of
Vitruvius Vitruvius (; c. 80–70 BC – after c. 15 BC) was a Roman architect and engineer during the 1st century BC, known for his multi-volume work entitled '' De architectura''. He originated the idea that all buildings should have three attribut ...
and the five books of the by
Sebastiano Serlio Sebastiano Serlio (6 September 1475 – c. 1554) was an Italian Mannerist architect, who was part of the Italian team building the Palace of Fontainebleau. Serlio helped canonize the classical orders of architecture in his influential trea ...
published from 1537, Vignola started writing an architecture rule book on the classical orders. His work was more practical than the preceding two books which were more philosophical in nature.


Editions and translations

For centuries it has been reprinted, translated, and used as an inspiration, e.g. for
William Robert Ware William Robert Ware (May 27, 1832 – June 9, 1915), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts into a family of the Unitarian clergy, was an American architect, author, and founder of two important American architectural schools. He received his o ...
's main work ''The American Vignola'' of 1904. By 1700, it had been reprinted fifteen times in Italian, and translated into Dutch, English, French, German, Russian and Spanish. By the end of the twentieth century, more than 250 editions of the book had been published, making it "the most widely used architectural textbook of all up to the nineteenth century ..forming one of the universal bases of courses of architecture".


Gallery

Fotothek df tg 0003892 Architektur ^ Porträt.jpg, Titlepage of the book Fotothek df tg 0003893 Architektur ^ Säule ^ Ordnung.jpg, The five orders, plate I of the Five Orders. Fotothek df tg 0003904 Architektur ^ Säule ^ dorische Ordnung ^ Kranz ^ Fries ^ Epistyl.jpg, The Doric Order, plate XII of the Five Orders. Fotothek df tg 0003905 Architektur ^ Bauwesen ^ Säule ^ ionische Ordnung ^ Basis ^ Kapitell ^ Fries ^ K.jpg, The Ionic order Fotothek df tg 0003916 Architektur ^ Säule ^ korinthische Ordnung ^ Kranz ^ Fries ^ Epistyl.jpg, The Corinthian Order Fotothek df tg 0003894 Architektur ^ Bauwesen ^ Säule ^ toskanische Ordnung ^ Basis ^ Kapitell ^ Fries.jpg, The Tuscan order Fotothek df tg 0003920 Architektur ^ Säule ^ Kompositordnung ^ Basis ^ Kapitell.jpg, The capital of a Composite Order column, plate XXVIII of the Five Orders.


Notes


External links


Bibliography and works on line on the "Architectura" website (Centre d'études supérieures de la Renaissance, Tours)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Five Orders of Architecture 1562 books Architectural treatises Renaissance literature Renaissance architecture in Italy Renaissance architecture