Alberti, Leone Battista, Architecture, 1755

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              Shepherds: There was a Contrivance upon the
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              Stage of a Machine which turning upon a Pin,
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              in an Inſtant changed the Scene to a Palace
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              for Tragedy, an ordinary Houſe for Comedy,
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              or a Grove for Paſtoral, as the Nature of the
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              Fable required. </s>
              <s>Such was the Manner of the
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              Middle, Area, Seats and Stage, Paſſages and
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              the like. </s>
              <s>I have already ſaid in this Chapter,
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              that one of the principal Parts of the Theatre
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              was the Portico, which was deſigned for ren­
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              dering the Sound of the Voice ſtronger and
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              clearer. </s>
              <s>This was placed upon the higheſt
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              Seat, and the Front of its Colonade looked to
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              the middle Area of the Theatre. </s>
              <s>Of this we
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              are now to give ſome Account.</s>
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              <s>THE Ancients had learnt from the Philoſo­
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              phers, that the Air, by the Percuſſion of the
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              Voice, and the Force of Sound, was put into a
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              circular Motion, in the ſame Manner as Water
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              is when any thing is ſuddenly plunged into it,
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              and that, as for Inſtance, in a Lute, or in a
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              Valley, between two Hills, eſpecially if the
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              Place be woody, the Sound and Voice are ren­
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              dered much more clear and ſtrong, becauſe the
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              ſwelling Circles of the Air meet with ſome­
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              thing which beats back the Rays of the Voice
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              that iſſue from the Center, in the ſame Man­
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              ner as a Ball is beat back from a Wall againſt
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              which it is thrown, by which means thoſe Cir­
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              cles are made cloſer and ſtronger: For this
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              Reaſon the Ancients built their Theatres cir­
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              cular; and that the Voice might meet with no
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              Obſtacle to ſtop its free Aſcent to the very
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              higheſt Part of the Theatre, they placed their
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              Seats in ſuch a Manner, that all the Angles of
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              them lay in one exact Line, and upon the
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              higheſt Seat, which was no ſmall Help, they
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              raiſed Porticoes facing the middle Area of the
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              Theatre, the Front of which Porticoes were as
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              open and free as poſſible, but the Back of them
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              was entirely ſhut up with a continued Wall.
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              </s>
              <s>Under this Portico they raiſed a low Wall,
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              which not only ſerved for a Pedeſtal to the
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              Columns, but alſo helped to collect the ſwelling
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              Orbs of the Voice, and to throw it gently into
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              the Portico itſelf, where being received into a
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              thicker Air, it was not reverberated from thence
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              too violently, but returned clear and a little
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              more ſtrengthened. </s>
              <s>And over all this, as a
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              Cieling to the Theatre, both to keep off the
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              Weather, and to retain the Voice, they ſpread
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              a Sail all ſtrewed over with Stars, which they
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              could remove at Pleaſure, and which ſhaded
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              the middle Area, the Seats, and all the Specta­
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              tors. </s>
              <s>The upper Portico was built with a
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              great deal of Art; for in order to ſupport it,
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              there were other Porticoes and Colonades at
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              the Back of the Theatre, out to the Street, and
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              in the larger Theatres, theſe Porticoes were
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              made double, that if any violent Rain or Storm
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              obliged the Spectators to fly for Shelter, it
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              might not drive in upon them. </s>
              <s>Theſe Porti­
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              coes and Colonades, thus placed under the up­
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              per Portico, were not like thoſe which we have
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              deſcribed for Temples or Baſiliques, but built
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              of ſtrong Pilaſters, and in Imitation of tri­
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              umphal Arches. </s>
              <s>We ſhall firſt therefore treat
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              of theſe under Porticoes, as being built for the
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              Sake of that above. </s>
              <s>The Rule for the Aper­
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              tures of theſe Porticoes is, that to every Paſſage
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              into the middle Area of the Theatre, there
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              ought to be one of them, and each of theſe
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              Apertures ſhould be accompanied with others
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              in certain Proportions, anſwering exactly one to
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              the other in Height, Breadth, Deſign and Or­
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              naments. </s>
              <s>The Breadth of the Area for walk­
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              ing in theſe Porticoes, ſhould be equal to the
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              Aperture between Pilaſter and Pilaſter, and the
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              Breadth of each Pilaſter ſhould be equal to half
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              that Aperture: All which Rules muſt be ob­
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              ſerved with the greateſt Care and Exactneſs.
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              </s>
              <s>Laſtly, againſt theſe Pilaſters we muſt not ſet
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              Columns entirely inſulate, as in triumphal
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              Arches, but only three quarter Columns with
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              Pedeſtals under them, in Height one ſixth of
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              the Column itſelf. </s>
              <s>The other Ornaments muſt
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              be the ſame as thoſe in Temples. </s>
              <s>The Height
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              of theſe three quarter Columns, with their
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              whole Entablature, muſt be equal to half the
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              perpendicular Height of the Seats within, ſo
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              that on the Outſide there muſt be two Orders
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              of Columns one over the other, the ſecond of
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              which muſt be juſt even with the Top of thoſe
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              Seats, and over this we muſt lay the Pavement
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              for the upper Portico, which as we ſhewed be­
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              fore, muſt look into the middle Area of the
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              Theatre, in Shape reſembling a Horſe-ſhoe.
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              </s>
              <s>This Subſtructure being laid, we are to raiſe
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              our upper Portico, the Front and Colonade
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              whereof is not to receive its Light from with­
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              out, like thoſe before deſcribed, but is to be
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              open to the Middle of the Theatre, as we have
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              already obſerved. </s>
              <s>This Work being raiſed in
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              order to prevent the Voice from being loſt and
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              diſperſed, may be called the Circumvallation.
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              <s>Its Height ſhould be the whole Height of the
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              outer Portico, with the Addition of one half,
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              and its Parts are theſe. </s>
              <s>The low Wall under
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              the Columns, which we may call a continued
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              Pedeſtal. </s>
              <s>This Wall of the whole Height of </s>
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