<)08

PRACTICK
OF A RCHITKCTUIIE.
Book III.
bitants only, possessing in fact no more beauty than we now
jrive to a back staircase. Tliey
are for tlic most part dark, narrow, and
inconvenient. Even in Italy, which in tlie splen-
dour of its buildings
preceded and surpassed all the other nations of Europe, the staircase
was, till a late period,
extremely simple in the largest and grandest palaces. Such are the
staircases of the Vatican,
Bernini's celebrated one being comparatively of a late date. The
old staircases of the
Tuilleries and of the Louvre, though on a considerable scale, are, from
their simplicity,
construction,
and situation, little in unison with the richness of the rest
of these palaces. And this was the
consequence of having the state apartments on tiie
ground floor.
When they were removed to a higher place, the staircase which conducted
to them
necessarily led to a correspondence
of design in it.
2802. It will be observed that our observations in this section are confined to internal
staircases.
Lar<Te flights of steps, such as those at the Trinita de" Monti and AraceH at
Rome, do not come within our notice, being unrestricted in their extent, and scarcely
subject to the general laws of architectural composition. In these it should however be
remembered that they must never rise in a continued series of steps from the bottom to the
summit, but must be provided with landings for resting places, as is usually the case in the
iialf and quarter spaces of internal stairs. An extremely fine example of an external flight of
stairs may be cited in those descending from the terrace to the orangery at Versailles. For
simplicity, grandeur, design, and beauty of construction, we scarcely know anything in
Europe more admirable than this staircase and the orangery to which it leads.
2803. The selection of the place in which the staircase of a dwelling is to be seated,
requires great judgment, and is always a difficult task in the form.ation of a plan. Palladio,
I lie great master of the moderns, thus delivers the rules for observance in planning them,
that they may not be an obstruction to the rest of the buildmg. He says,
"
A particular
place must be marked out, that no part of the building should receive any prejudice by
them. There are three openings necessary to a staircase. The first is the doorway that
leads to it, which the more it is in sight the better it is ;
and 1 highly approve of its
being in such a place that before one comes to it the best part of the house may be seen,
for although the house be small, yet by such arrangement it will appear larger: the door,
however, must be obvious, and easy to be found. The second opening is tliat of the win-
dows through which the stairs are lighted
;
they should be in the middle, and large
enough to light the stairs in every part. The third opening is the landing place by which
one enters into the rooms above
;
it ought to be fair and well ornamented, and to lead
into the largest places first."
2804.
"
Staircases," continues our author,
"
will be perfect, if they are spacious, light,
and easy to ascend ;
as if, indeed, they seemed to invite people to mount. They will be
clear, if the light is bright and equally diflTused ;
and they will be suflKciently ample, if they
do not appear scanty and narrow in proportion to the size and quality of the building.
Nevertheless, they ought never to be narrower than 4 feet "(4 feet 6 inches English *),
"so
that two i)ersons meeting on the stairs may conveniently pass each other. They will be
convenient with respect to the whole building, if the arches under them can be used for
domestic purjjoses ; and commodious for the persons going up and down, if the stairs are
not too steep nor the steps too high. Therefore, they must be twice as long as broad.
The steps ought not to exceed 6 inches in height ; and if they be lower they must be so to
long and continued stairs, for they will be so much the easier, because one needs not lift
the foot so high
;
but tliey must never be lower than 4 inches." (Tliese are Vicentine
inches.
)
"
The breadth of the steps ought not to be less than a foot, nor more than a foot
and a half. The ancients used to make the steps of an odd number, that thus beginning to
ascend with the right foot, they might end with ihe same foot, which they took to be a
good omen, and a greater mark of respect so to enter iiUo the temple. It will be suflficient
to put eleven or tliirteen steps at most to a flight before coming to a half-pace, thus to help
weak people and of short breath, as well that they may there have the opportunity of
resting as to allow of any person falling from above being there caught." We lio not ])ro-
pose to give examples of other than the most usual forms of staircases and stairs; their
variety is almost infinite, and could not even in their leading features be compassed in a
work like this. The varieties, indeed, would not be usefully given, inasmuch as the forms
are necessarily dependent on the varied circumstances of each plan, calling upon the
architect almost on every occasion to invent pro re nata.
2805. Stairs are of two sorts, straight and winding. Before proceeding with his design,
the architect must always take care, whether in the straight or winding staircase, that the per-
son ascending has what is called headway, which is a clear distance measured vertically from
any step, quarter, half-pace, or landing, to the underside of the ceiling, step, or other part
immediately over it, so as to allow the tallest person to clear it with his hat on; and this is
the minimum height of headway that can be admitted. To return to the straight and
ivinding staircase, it is to be observed, that the first may be divided into t\ro Jlights, or be

The Vicentine foot is about 13-G inches English.