13[Figure 13]THE
ARCHITECTURE
OF
Leone Batiſta Alberti.
ARCHITECTURE
OF
Leone Batiſta Alberti.
BOOK III. CHAP. I.
Of the Work. Wherein lies the Buſineſs of the Work; the different Parts of
the Wall, and what they require. That the Foundation is no Part of the
Wall; what Soil makes the beſt Foundation.
the Wall, and what they require. That the Foundation is no Part of the
Wall; what Soil makes the beſt Foundation.
The whole Buſineſs of the working
Part of Building is this; by a re
gular and artful Conjunction of
different Things, whether ſquare
Stone, or uneven Scantlings, or
Timber, or any other ſtrong Material, to form
them as well as poſſible into a ſolid, regular,
and conſiſtent Structure. We call it regular
and conſiſtent when the Parts are not incon
gruous and disjointed, but are diſpoſed in their
proper Places, and are anſwerable one to the
other, and conformable to a right Ordinance of
Lines. We are therefore to conſider what are
the principal eſſential Parts in the Wall, and
what are only the Lines and Diſpoſition of
thoſe Parts. Nor are the Parts of the Wall
any Thing difficult to find out; for the Top,
the Bottom, the right Side, the Left, the re
mote Parts, the Near, the Middle are obvious
of themſelves; but the particular Nature of
each of theſe, and wherein they differ, is not
ſo eaſily known. For the raiſing a Building is
not, as the Ignorant imagine, merely laying
Stone upon Stone, or Brick upon Brick; but
as there is a great Diverſity of Parts, ſo there
requires a great Diverſity of Materials and Con
trivance. For one Thing is proper in the
Foundation, another in the naked Wall and in
the Corniſh, another for the Coins, and for the
Lips of the Apertures, one for the outward
Face of the Wall, another for the cramming
and filling up the middle Parts: Our Buſineſs
here is to ſhew what is requiſite in each of
theſe. In doing this, therefore, we ſhall begin
at the Foundation, imitating, as we ſaid before,
thoſe that are actually going to raiſe the Struc
ture. The Foundation, if I miſtake not, is
not properly a Part of the Wall, but the Place
and Seat on which the Wall is reared. For
if we can find a Seat perfectly firm and ſolid,
conſiſting perhaps of nothing but Stone, what
Foundation are we obliged to make? None,
Part of Building is this; by a re
gular and artful Conjunction of
different Things, whether ſquare
Stone, or uneven Scantlings, or
Timber, or any other ſtrong Material, to form
them as well as poſſible into a ſolid, regular,
and conſiſtent Structure. We call it regular
and conſiſtent when the Parts are not incon
gruous and disjointed, but are diſpoſed in their
proper Places, and are anſwerable one to the
other, and conformable to a right Ordinance of
Lines. We are therefore to conſider what are
the principal eſſential Parts in the Wall, and
what are only the Lines and Diſpoſition of
thoſe Parts. Nor are the Parts of the Wall
any Thing difficult to find out; for the Top,
the Bottom, the right Side, the Left, the re
mote Parts, the Near, the Middle are obvious
of themſelves; but the particular Nature of
each of theſe, and wherein they differ, is not
ſo eaſily known. For the raiſing a Building is
not, as the Ignorant imagine, merely laying
Stone upon Stone, or Brick upon Brick; but
as there is a great Diverſity of Parts, ſo there
requires a great Diverſity of Materials and Con
trivance. For one Thing is proper in the
Foundation, another in the naked Wall and in
the Corniſh, another for the Coins, and for the
Lips of the Apertures, one for the outward
Face of the Wall, another for the cramming
and filling up the middle Parts: Our Buſineſs
here is to ſhew what is requiſite in each of
theſe. In doing this, therefore, we ſhall begin
at the Foundation, imitating, as we ſaid before,
thoſe that are actually going to raiſe the Struc
ture. The Foundation, if I miſtake not, is
not properly a Part of the Wall, but the Place
and Seat on which the Wall is reared. For
if we can find a Seat perfectly firm and ſolid,
conſiſting perhaps of nothing but Stone, what
Foundation are we obliged to make? None,
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