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Hadrian’s Villa
Horaces’ Villa
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Alberti, On the Art of Building in Ten Books
Palladio, The Four Books on Architecture

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Vitruvius, The Ten Books on Architecture ( 1st century BCE)
Chapter VI: The Farmhouse
1. In the first place, inspect the country from
the point of view of health, in accordance with what is written
in my first book, on the building of cities, and let your farmhouses
be situated accordingly. Their dimensions should depend upon the
size of the farm and the amount of produce. Their couryards and
the dimensions thereof should be determined by the number of cattle
and number of yokes of oxen taht will need to be kept therein. Let
the kitchen be placed on the warmest side of the courtyard, with
the stalls for the oxen adjoining, and their cribs facing the kitchen
fire and the eastern quarter of the sky, for the reason that oxen
facing the light and the fire do not get rough-coated. Even peasants
wholly without knowledge of the quarters of the sky believe that
oxen ought to face only in the direction of the sunrise.
2. Their stalls ought to be not less than ten nor
more than fifteen feet wide, and long enough to allow not less than
seven feet for each yoke. Bathrooms, also, should adjoin the kitchen;
for in this situation it will not take long to get ready a bath
in the country.
[...]
6. We must take care that all buildings are well
lighted, but this is obviously an easier matter with those whcih
are on country estaets, because there can be no neighbor’s wall
to interfere, whereas in town hgih party walls or limited space
obstruct the ligth and make them dark. Hence we must apply the following
test in this matter. On the side from which the light should be
obtained let a line be stretched from the top of hte wall that seems
to obstruct the light to the oint at which it ought to be introduced,
and if a considerable space of op[en sky can be seen when one looks
up above that line, there will be no obstruction to the light in
that situation.
7. But if there are timbers in the way, or lintels,
or upper stories, then, make the opening highter up and introduce
the light in this way. And as a general rule, we must arrange so
as to leav places for windows on all sides on which a clear view
of the sky can be had, for this will make our buildings light. Not
only in dining rooms and other rooms for general use are windows
very necessary, but also in passages, level or inclined, and on
stairs; for people carrying burdens too often meet and run against
each other in such places.
Vitruvius. The Ten Books on Architecture. Transl. Morris Hicky Morgan. New York: Dover Publications, 1960, pp.
183–185.
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