In Vincenzo Scamozzi’s earliest recorded pro-ject in Venice, the young architect undertook tointroduce new sources of light into the gloomyinterior of the Venetian church of San Salvatore,located a short distance due south of the Pontedi Rialto. Thereby the theme ‘architettura-luce’makes its appearance at the beginning ofScamozzi’s architectural practice, around 1570,or slightly later, when the canons of San Salva-tore called upon Scamozzi to remedy the dark-ness of their church (“chiesa [...] cieca ed oscu-

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Charles Davis Architecture and Light: Vincenzo Scamozzi’s Statuary Installation in the Chiesetta of the Palazzo Ducale in Venice

ra”), which he did, advising opening a lantern ineach of the three domes of the nave. Temanzawrites that “la Chiesa fu arricchita di quella luceche abbisognava”. As is often the case withScamozzi’s lanterns the exterior architecturalforms are exceedingly simple, with expansivewindow openings aimed at introducing a maxi-mum of light into the architectural interior1. Inthe immense architectural treatise of Scamozzi’smaturity, his Idea dell’architettura universale, firstpublished in 1615, the architecture of light con-stitutes a new and not negligible component.Here Scamozzi’s detailed theoretical attentionto light appears unique, almost unprecedentedin Renaissance architectural treatises. He pro-poses a systematic typology of architectural illu-mination (“lumi diversi negli edifici”), differen-tiated into six and more kinds of light within aconstruction. “Il lume naturale è uno solo”,writes Scamozzi, “mà per vari accidenti eglipuò esser alterato non poco: e perciò noi lodivideremo in sei specie”2.

In order to explicate the declination ofarchitectural light, Scamozzi indicates on a full-page plate of the Idea the various kinds of light,tracing them on the plan and the elevation of aparadigmatic central-plan edifice, whichappears to be further development of the RoccaPisana. The plate on page 138 of the “Primaparte” of the Idea illustrates, in fact, the lostVilla Bardellini at Monfumo (Treviso),designed by Scamozzi in 15943. In this plate ofthe Villa Bardellini the six species of light areindicated on the elevation, and the passage oflight through the rooms is shown on the plan.The building has at its centre, “una Sala roton-da [...], con quattro gran Nicchi negli angoli, laquale si eleva in molta l’altezza; dove appare lasua cupola sopra al tetto” (I, 39). The firstinstance of Scamozzi’s light typology, “lumeamplissimo, o celeste”, is the light of the open,sun-lit sky, indicated in Scamozzi’s elevationdiagram by the arc “u-x” over the cupola. Sec-ond in Scamozzi’s classification is “lume vivo eperpendicolare”, open skylight received fromthe “apriture delle Cupole, come della Rotondadi Roma”, and, with regard to the elevation,Scamozzi writes, the diagonal, crossed lines,“o-p” and “r-s”, indicate the “lume vivo, per-pendicolare, che dal cielo aperto viene dal-

1. Venice, San Salvatore, cupolas with lanterns.

l’apritura del sommo della Cupola, e si diffondenel piano della Sala”. In a similar mannerScamozzi describes and categorizes the diffu-sion of light throughout the edifice, distin-guishing the several cases and trajectories oflight, and differentiating among levels of illu-mination (“forte”, “mediocre”, “debole”),among the directions of light (vertical, horizon-

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tal, diagonal), and between the diffusion ofdirect lighting (“diretto”, “aperto”, “vivo”) andthat of indirect lighting (“lume secondario, ter-tiario, riflesso o rifratto”).

In his Discorsi sopra l’antichità di Roma4, acommentary, prepared by Scamozzi followinghis return from Rome around 1580, to a seriesof vedute of the antichità di Roma engraved by

2. Villa plan and elevation, with light paths (Vincenzo Scamozzi, L’Idea dell’architettura universale, Venezia 1615, I, p. 138).

which the columns are all seen in controluce.Nearby, at the right, is another columnaded exe-dra, where the columns are illuminated by thelight of the interior space. Also indicative is anear reversal of usual graphic conventions: morenotable than the windows closer to the viewer,blacked-out following an established graphicconvention of architectural drawing, are theopen, white windows, in the backgroundbehind, more distant from the viewer. InScamozzi’s ideal restitution of the terme, light,that is illumination depicted by graphic means,enters from the left and from a source not iden-tifiable with the position of the spectator, asource that is located distant from the observer,deep in profundity, so that it can filter from afarthrough the architectural spaces toward the van-tage point of the spectator. Thus it is possible todiscern a clear connection between Scamozzi’sinterest in architectural light, evident in hismature treatise, the Idea dell’architettura univer-sale, and his interest in the diversity of light asreflected in his youthful studies of perspectiveand of the “scienze antiquarie”, of which a firstresult was seen in his “Tavola delle Terme diDiocleziano”. Nor would it perhaps be mistak-en to seek the origins of this interest in a scien-tific matrix, on the one hand, an optic-perspec-tival matrix, and, on the other, an antiquarian-architectural one.

In Scamozzi’s treatise the treatment of thetopic ‘light’ is not restricted to the brief chapteron architectural lighting. Scamozzi’s commen-taries to the plates illustrating his own architec-tural works are often careful to specify the diffu-sion of light within Scamozzi’s buildings6.Observations concerning architectural light also

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Battista Pittoni, it is noteworthy that the author,Scamozzi, dedicates careful and constant atten-tion to the phenomena of architectural illumi-nation (Tav. V: “Lumi delle Cappelle”, “Lumiche venivano nella nave di mezzo”; IX: “Porticisecondi, che ricevano lume dagli esteriori”;XIIII: “Portici interiori, che ricevano lume da’primi”; XV: “Primi Portici, che ricevano lumedal defuori”, “Secondi Portici, che ricevanolume da’ primi, & delle parti di dentro”; XVIII:“Aperture, che davano lume vivo alla strada”;XXI: “Strada, che girava intorno con alcuni lumialti”; XXII: “Apritura, che dalla strada di mezzodava lume alle scale di due rami”, “Strada dimezzo, che girava intorno, con lumi alti”;XXXI: “Lume alto, ch’entrava per sotto l’arcodella volta granda”; XXXIIII: “Apriture, chedavano lumi”; XXXV: “Dove entrava lume altoà basso, nella nave di mezzo”; etc.). The impetusfor these annotations concerning architecturallight comes from Scamozzi, for his observationsare superimposed, after the fact, on Pittoni’spre-existing vedute, which reflect no specialinterest in effects of light.

The same detailed attention to architecturallighting can be discerned in Scamozzi’s largeengraving of the Baths of Diocletian5. Thisgraphic restitution of the Terme Diocleziane, of1580, manifests a careful and accurate descrip-tion of the illumination of the interior cham-bers, describing the play of light within theinternal spaces. The graphic recording of lighteffects is so insistent that it must be consideredpremeditated and intentional, and not thechance result of casual observation, as testifies,for instance, a detail such as the exedra formedby a ‘colonnata a giorno’ that traces a curve, in

3. “Chorographia omnium partium Thermarum Dioclitiani…”, 1580, detail(after Vincenzo Scamozzi, Discorsi sopral’antichità di Roma [1582]. Milano 1991, pp. xvi-xvii).

recur in Scamozzi’s treatment of the architectur-al typologies, “casa antica”, “scale”, “porte”,“finestre”, “sale”, “salotti” and others7. Thus,just as in the Discorsi, in the Architettura univer-sale, the phenomenon ‘light’ emerges as a recur-rent motive in the thought of the architect andauthor. The extraordinary effects of illumina-tion experienced in the Rocca Pisana are amplyillustrated in Franco Barbieri’s La Rocca Pisana diVicenza of 1985.

Nor did the classic passage on the illumina-tion of the Roman Pantheon, that of SebastianoSerlio in his third book dedicated to “Antichità”,escape the notice of Scamozzi8. To this passageScamozzi appended, in his 1584 edition of Ser-lio, the following annotation, the cross indicat-ing it as among the topics “più gravi, et impor-tanti”: “+ Lume nella parte superiore della

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Ritonda si dilata con molta gratia, per tutte leparti, come non impedita di cosa alcuna”9. In histreatise Serlio also notes in the Pantheon thepresence of a “lume secondo”, which filters intothe perimetral chapels through the interior win-dows in the attic wall. More fundamental to Ser-lio’s consideration of the Pantheon is a furtherobservation he makes concerning the rôle oflight within the architectural space of the ancientRotunda. Serlio writes that he who finds himselfwithin the Pantheon, even if of “mediocre aspet-to e presenza”, “se gli accresce un non so che digrandezza, e di venustà” (an analysis to which aLonginian aesthetic is not extraneous, here in aprecocious architectural application), and Serliocontinues, affirming that “il tutto nasce dal lumeceleste, che da cosa alcuna non è impedito”.From these considerations Serlio draws a furtherand more practical lesson with regard to the pre-sentation of sculptural works of art. Lightingfrom above (“il lume di sopra”), he writes, is bestsuited for the spaces where statues are housed, astestify the “diversi tabernacoli, nicchi, etfinestrelle” of the Rotunda in Rome.

Serlio’s statuary light, which explicitly servesto amplify and render more beautiful the illumi-nated sculptures, is a theme which reappears inScamozzi’s Architettura universale. HereScamozzi distinguishes very explicitly betweenwhat he calls the “container” (“il continente”)and the “contained”, that is the object exhibited(the “cosa contenuta”), emphasizing the nobili-ty and beauty of the exhibited work of art interms essentially little different from thoseemployed by present-day architects and exhibi-tion designers10.

Both the Rotunda and the interior illumina-tion of chambers intended for statuary displayare themes that can be discovered in Scamozzi’sarchitectural works. As evident both in Giovan-ni Battista Gleria’s reconstruction of the lostchurch of Santa Maria della Celestia and in theChatsworth drawing which has been associatedwith this project, Scamozzi proposes a sort ofnew Pantheon for Venice, a circular, centralizedplan with a dome11. The theme of illuminationalla romana reappears both in Scamozzi’s projectfor the Venetian church of San Nicolò daTolentino and in that for the church of San Gae-tano in Padua, and again in the Chiesetta di SanGiorgio at the villa Duodo in Monselice12. In hisrestitution of the ancient Roman house,Scamozzi proposes – situated on the medianaxis of the vast complex – a large salone under adomed vault, placing at the two sides of thislarge room, niches of colossal dimensions fur-nished with statues13, in a exhibition modelclearly derived from the giant niches of the Pan-theon portico, a design pattern which Scamozziadapts to other contexts, for instance, in his the-

4. Section of Pantheon, Rome (Sebastiano Serlio, Il terzo libro, Venezia 1540, p. ix).

5. Rome, Pantheon, interior of dome (J.B.Ward-Perkins, Architettura Romana,Milano 1998).

6. Pantheon, section with light paths, Rome(after Käbler, in E. Steingräber, Meilensteine der europäischen Kunst,München 1965, p. 60).

atre at Sabbioneta14. Moreover, distributedthrough Scamozzi’s treatise are numerous otherindications regarding the disposition of niches,foreseen as containers for statues, groups andstatuary complexes15.

In the Chiesetta of the Palazzo Ducale inVenice the task with which Scamozzi was con-fronted, possibly around 1593, was the follow-ing: the exhibition of a large marble statuarygroup of the Madonna and Child with fourAngels. This work was begun by Jacopo Sanso-vino in 1536, to be completed only very manyyears later, after the death of the sculptor-archi-tect in 157016. At the point in time whenScamozzi entered onto the scene, the group wasdestined to become the altar statue (simulacro diculto) of the high altar of the Chapel of theVenetian Doge, then Pasquale Cicogna, whosereign extended over the entire decade from1585 to 159517. While the statuary group wasclearly intended, in its new systematisation, asan object of Christian veneration and devotion,the unusual magnificence of Scamozzi’s framingarchitectural altar creates a dramatic, almostmuseum-like, even exhibition-like impression.The liturgical function of the altar is greatlyunderstated: the mensa itself does not projectforward, but it is withdrawn into the altaraedicule as a kind of table spread before theVirgin, a plane contained within the concavityof the altar and not a stereometrically project-ing cubic mensa.

In the Palazzo Ducale the Chiesetta is locat-ed on the terzo piano, at the northern extremityof the wing on the Rio di Palazzo, far above theScala dei Giganti in the northwest corner of theCortile di Palazzo18. Opposite Scamozzi’s altar,the Chiesetta opens onto the Antichiesetta, and,to the right, onto the Senate. As can be observedfrom the Cortile, the small chapel of theChiesetta projects outward considerably fromthe body of the Doge’s Palace, without, howev-er, being a ‘hanging’ or cantilevered structure,since it rests on the stairwell that leads to theDucal Apartments at the level immediatelybelow the Chiesetta.

In the earlier history of Italian architecturethere are few if any precedents for similar archi-tectonic statuary displays which, in their richness,complexity and artifice, approach the level of thesolutions realized by Scamozzi in the Chiesetta.Instead of a simple niche in the form of a classi-cal aedicule, Scamozzi composes a much moreelaborate spatial structure, accomodating threerows of colums and pilasters and excavating in thecentre a niche proper, a niche which begins as arounded concavity, and then is given a flattenedcurved profile in its deepest part.

Within the columned portico of his altar thearchitect has also incorporated a scheme to

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enhance the illumination of Sansovino’s statuarygroup: two narrow windows, set high betweenpaired lateral pilasters, are inserted in the twoside walls of the shallow altar-chapel. Whilethese two small windows do not escape thenotice of the assiduous observer, their presenceand their function has gone unremarked in theslight art historical literature treating Scamozzi’s

7. Plan of San Gaetano, Padua (Œuvres d’architecture de Vincent Scamozzi, ed.S. Du Ry, Leyden 1713).

8. Statuary Gallery, in “Aspetto di dentrodella casa antica romana” (Scamozzi, L’I-dea…, cit., I, p. 234, detail).

altar. Nevertheless, there enters through thesetwo lateral windows into the cappelletta a sec-ondary light, a “lume secondario”, “laterale” and“orizzontale”, which diffuses through the forestof columns to illuminate the marble altar group,a light which supplements and completes theillumination afforded by the two windowsplaced high above in the west wall of theChiesetta at the sides of the altar tabernacle, a“luce viva e perpendicolare”.

On the plan of the Chiesetta are indicatedthe several sources of light that illuminate thespace of the Chiesetta following its transforma-tion by Scamozzi. The lateral windows along thenorth wall, presumably predating Scamozzi,constitute the principal sources of light. Butadditional openings also afford illumination: thetwo large high square windows at the sides ofScamozzi’s altar tabernacle, just beneath thelevel of the pediment, opened, it seems, as anintegral part of Scamozzi’s project, to judge bythe profiles of the window frames. The openingsof the two internal doors leading respectively tothe Antichiesetta and to the Senate as well asthose of the two low windows opened in theinterior dividing wall between the Chiesetta andthe Antichiesetta all afford lesser intensities ofillumination. Taken together, all these lightsources create a variable and complex illumina-tion, emanating from several openings, not allcreated by Scamozzi himself. One may note thatthe level of illumination that they together cre-ate does not perhaps completely satisfy theexpectations of the modern eye, blind to the

stars and conditioned by a lifetime experience ofartificial light, ranging from incandescent, toneon, to halogen, and embracing the furtherdeterminative light experiences of cathode mon-itors, LCDs, flash and strobe.

Scamozzi’s world of light was, of course, verydifferent, as were his ambitions. He could, how-ever, situate his ideal of optimal statuary illumi-nation somewhere along a scale rangingbetween gentle candle light and the blazing lightof the summer sun, which bleaches the plastici-ty-defining shadows from sculptural forms19. Inthe Chiesetta, Scamozzi’s intention appears tobe that of introducing additional light fromabove, to create a statuary light, at once diffuseand temperate, but adequate to illuminate andreveal the plastic form of Sansovino’s statuarygroup. Possibly Scamozzi’s ideal of sculpturallight was the equivalent of the diffuse, post-win-ter daylight, cast by an empty clear blue sky.With his two small lateral windows, placed highbetween the columns of his tabernacle,Scamozzi follows the same aim, illuminating thegroup from the sides with light that comes fromabove, and, simultaneously, brightening theshadowed cavity of the niche.

At the same time the ‘architect-designer’Scamozzi achieves a further luminous effect,just possibly one that did not lie within therealm of his immediate intentions: as sunlightenters from the two small lateral windows, itsrays reverberate, constituting an almost tangi-ble stratum of light, and creating a diffusesplendour before and around the Virgin in a

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9. Pantheon, elevation and section of the pronaos (Andrea Palladio, I quattro libridell’architettura, Venezia 1570, p. 79).

10. Sabbioneta, Theatre, detail.

penumbra of light. In the frontal view of thealtar the lateral windows tend to disappear, hid-den behind the columns, thus eliciting theimpression of a Vergine lucifera, housed in asacellum resplendent with light – light, which isultimately the most immediate expression of thenuminous. This mysterious, fleeting quasi-corona of light may simply be a contingent phe-nomenon. And, while this luminous phenome-non is inconstant in time and determined bymomentary conditions of external light, it isnevertheless an observable and recurrentattribute of Scamozzi’s altar today.

If we look now to the more tangible archi-tectural forms of Scamozzi’s statuary altar, acomparison with the plate illustrating the “PortaRomana” (i.e., the Italic or Composite door) inScamozzi’s treatise shows that the external frame

of the altar corresponds completely to a veryhigh doorway in which the frieze of the entabla-ture has been omitted but which is crowned by atympanum, broken to receive the arms of theCicogna Doge20. This tall giant doorway givesthe impression of opening like a window onto avision of a chapel composed by a succession ofcolumns and arches, with the white simulacrumset before a nocturnal background, and, above,crossing through a diaphragm of white cornices,half a blue hemisphere blanketed with a hundredand more stars of gold. The eight points of thestars repeat exactly the octacuspidate stars of thecrown of Sansovino’s Madonna Regina coeli, as anexplicit indication that the altar is conceived as acelestial house, the stellate half-hemisphere as aDome of Heaven, divine as the volte celeste of thenearby cupolas of the Basilica of San Marco with

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11. Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Chiesetta: altar.

12. Plan and elevation of altar of the Chiesetta, Palazzo Ducale, Venice (F. Zanotto, Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia,Venezia 1858, II, p. CI).

their eight-point stars and Christ in the centre21.The richness of the architectural forms is

brought to completion by the conspicuouscolouristic richness of the precious materialsemployed in the altar. White marble in the placeof pietra d’Istria constitutes in Venice a note ofincreased magnificence, and, in addition, thereare green serpentine, marbles red and grey, andmischi, black pietra di paragone22, and, for the cap-itals and bases of the columns, bronze, followingan usage of classical antiquity known to Scamozzifrom ancient literary sources and, just possibly,also suggested by the precious fantasy architec-ture of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, where weread of the Temple of Venus Physizoa, itscolumns with capitals of bronze23. In Scamozzi’sArchitettura universale he specifically cites the“Portico di Gneo Ottavio”, which had “leColonne con i Capitelli di Rame; cioè di Bron-zo”24. In the altar of the Chiesetta the elements ofpolychromy and of black-white chiaroscuro areintrinsically colouristic, and hence further com-ponents of the design determined by light, as, forinstance, is also the soffit or intrados of the larg-er interior arch, apparently painted in imitationof inlaid pietra dura intarsia.

If, as in the analysis of Serlio, statuary light-ing aims to enhance and amplify the subjectiveimpression created by sculptures within theirarchitectural enclosures, this same aim appearsmanifested in the rich architectural articulationof Scamozzi’s altar. Within the context of theimmense portal that surrounds the columnedarch of the altar, the columns appear to be cal-culated on a smaller scale, in a relation ‘1 : 3’(i.e., ‘column : portone’). But the scale and,indeed, the objective dimensions of thecoloured marble columns, which flank the whitemarble Madonna, accord more essentially withthe dimensions of the statuary group and its

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socle, which they nearly match. While thedimensions of the seated, enthroned Madonnaare objectively large, they appear subjectivelysmall, when measured against the verticalexpanse of the giant doorway, which extendsaround the Madonna as a vertical frame, theheight of which is nearly four times greater thanthat of the seated Madonna. “Perche rare volte iScultori fanno le loro statue proportionate a’Nicchi”, writes Scamozzi, it is the task of thearchitect to see that “le statue vi comparonomolto meglio”, better, that is, in the niches thatthe architect constructs: proportionate andcommensurate in size25.

The resolution of such discrepancies of scalelies in establishing a dimensional bridge or linkbetween a large-scale architectural design andthe statue-simulacrum, whose dimensions arecalculated on a smaller scale. In the CicognaAltar, Scamozzi accomplishes this transition pri-marily through two design expedients. The sec-ond, more distant arch, that surmounting theniche proper, is effectively much smaller thanthe forward arch that springs from the foremostcolumns of the altar, thus accomplishing areduction in scale as the circle around the statuedraws smaller and closer. In turn, the small-scale

13. Plan of the Chiesetta, Palazzo Ducale, Venice (A. Diedo, G.A. Selva, L. Cicognara,Le fabbriche più cospicue di Venezia,Venezia 1858, I, pl. 21, detail).

14. Jacopo Sansovino, Madonna di SanMarco (Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Chiesetta).

15. Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Chiesetta:altar of the Madonna di San Marco.

columns that surround the Madonna create theimpression that she – if standing, nearly as tall asthe length of a column shaft – is larger than sheactually is, the eye deceived by a cognitive stan-dard of comparison: the knowledge of the nor-mal dimensional relationship between the(smaller) human body and the (larger) architec-tural orders. Similarly, an example selected fromthe stucco decoration of the Villa Madama inRome, the statue of Venus, in reality small like abronzetto, is, with artifice, and in a reversal ofarchitectural scale, made to appear as large as acolossus, compared to the diminutive order andstatue niches at her two sides. A further exampleof a similar design strategy is observable inJacopo Sansovino’s Monument to the DogeFrancesco Venier in the Venetian church of SanSalvatore, where in the two lateral tabernaclesthe very slender flanking columns, topped byelongated mensoles sustaining pediments, riseonly to the shoulder level of the standing statuesthat they frame, and thus adding magnitude tothese figural elements within the complexmacchina of the tomb.

In the Doge’s Palace, within the tabernaclethe profiles of the two white repeating cornicesthat ring the niche above the Virgin amplify the

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architectural framework, much as the two whiteconcentric arches above concord in conferring adynamic upward expansion to the altar. To fillhis expansive structure, Scamozzi disposes adouble file of columns, with their flanking cou-pled pilasters behind or at the side, and he rais-es Sansovino’s statuary group, already repletewith a basis, upon a further high red-stone socle,in which the bevelled, sunken-panelled facesreflect Jacopo Sansovino’s design preferences.

Despite the extraordinary richness of theensemble, the architectural tenor of the whole,as well as that of the single forms, is of anunusual, almost classical restraint and purity.This restraint is all the more striking against thebackdrop of the heavy, inflated Vittorian orna-mentalism still prevailing in Venice at the end ofthe century. In Scamozzi’s design the limpidwhiteness of the exterior marble framework alsocontains, isolates and intensifies the zone ofpolychromy at the centre.

In the entablature of the niche the contrast-ing deep green of the broken pulvinate friezelends emphasis to the succession of planes andto the dynamic linear and spatial rhythm of thearchitrave and cornice, a movement renderedmore intense, more charged with tension andmore instable by the flattening of the concaveprofile of the niche itself. Other manifestationsof a similar taste can be discovered in otherworks by Scamozzi, for instance, in the curvingcontours of the five steps of the cavea in his well-known project drawing for the Teatro Ducale atSabbioneta, preserved in an autographed copyat the Uffizi (191 A)26. It is not far afield to dis-cern in the multiple curved contours ofScamozzi’s Palazzo Ducale Altar — rounded,but with a reined in trajectory charged withdynamic tension — an anticipation of the ele-gant architectural dynamism of the great mas-

16. Venice, Palazzo Ducale, Chiesetta: lateral window of altar.

17. Plan of the light paths in the Chiesetta,Palazzo Ducale, Venice.

tribute to the serliana contratta of the largeIonic windows of the upper storey of Sansovi-no’s Library, a design also characterised bypaired lateral columns, again disposed not sideby side, but in depth, one behind the other. Inboth cases the Serlian window is inserted intoa dimensional context conceived on a largerscale, framed, that is, by a major order. In bothdesigns, the contraction of the triadic Serlianmotive acquires a Sansovinesque character,with the smaller columns only slightlydetached from the sides, in a sort of doublepseudo-serliana, with, as mentioned, pairedcolumns at the sides, arranged in depth.

The Sansovinesque invention of the serlianacontratta, with the lateral apertures muchreduced in width, is found in the very well-known drawing ‘D.18’ of the Museo Civico inVicenza, recording a project for the façade ofthe Scuola della Misericordia in Venice, with theserliana contratta occurring in both storeys. Butit is the large windows of the upper storey, withtheir spirally scannellated columns, whichallowed Manfredo Tafuri to demonstrateunequivocally the descent of this Sansovinowindow invention from a single Florentinemodel: the tabernacle of the Mercanzia by

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ters of the Roman Baroque: the interior ofPietro da Cortona’s Roman church of the SantiLuca e Martina seems only a step away27.

The legacy of Jacopo Sansovino remains,however, a not-to-be-underestimated factor inthe art of Vincenzo Scamozzi, and, in his elabo-rate design for an altar to house Sansovino’smarble group, his debts to the sculptor-architectextend far beyond those of the design of theinferior socle. The triadic partition of the blackniche wall behind the Virgin is a further remi-niscence of the Florentine Tatti, as is also theform given to the archivolt of the forward arch,with alternating octagons and lozenge-shapedovals in an all’antica ceiling coffering patternmuch favoured by Sansovino. Very similar pat-terns also recur in the intrados of the centralarch of the Venier Monument, mentionedabove, as well as in the archivolts of the Ionicwindows of the piano nobile of the LibreriaSansoviniana28.

Further comparisons with Sansovino’sLibreria di San Marco permit going beyond areading of the altar-chapel of the Vergine di SanMarco as a Portal (Maria Porta coeli) and sug-gest understanding it as a great window (fine-strone) that opens onto a celestial vision. Thewindow analogy is also suggested by the gene-sis of Scamozzi’s architectural design. In thearch that rises before the statuary niche, sup-ported on four full-round columns and six con-tropilastri, it is possible to discern a further

18. “Porta romana” (Scamozzi, L’Idea…,cit., II, p. 113).

19. Venice, Palazzo Ducale, archivolt of the arch of the Chiesetta altar.

20. Rome, Villa Madama, stucco decoration.

Donatello at Orsanmichele, with the same smallspirally-fluted columns29.

In Scamozzi’s project for the altar of theDucal Chapel the paired columns of the Libre-ria’s Ionic windows are separated and distancedfrom one another in depth, to create an intervalto contain the mensa and in which to insert thelight-bringing lateral windows, which are half-concealed within the lateral intercolumniations.Where Sansovino transformed Donatello’s stat-ue niche into a window, Scamozzi, in a typolog-ical reversal, refashions Sansovino’s window intoa statuary container: no longer a window, butnow a niche enframement. Following this inter-pretation, the niche proper, with its arc and itstwo flanking columns, constitutes a second,more distant arch, a minor one inserted into theprimary arched organism.

In the landings of the staircase that leads tothe upper level of Sansovino’s Libreria, thererecur doorways and blind arches that take theform of the serliana contratta. All these designsecho the forms of the large Ionic windows ofthe Library’s exterior. A walled in serliana con-tratta occupies the rear wall of the vestibule justbehind the entrance to the Libreria betweenthe two colossal caryatids30. Here, too, theorder is Ionic, formulated in a summary form,and the columns are coupled with contropilastri,now replete with capitals and bases, in the placeof the pseudo-pilasters of the exterior Ionicwindows. Even the diagonally circling veins ofthe marble appear to mime the pattern of spiralfluting. And higher along the stairway, in theatrium leading to the Sala of the Libreria, theso-called serliana reappears in the form of twolarge open and paired window-portals, Ionic,and functioning as a diaphragm of light31. Againthe columns are distanced only slightly fromthe contropilastri, and the archivolts are dividedinto squares and rectangles, filled withgrotesque intaglios.

If not previously, certainly soon after 1582,all of these architectural designs of JacopoSansovino moved rapidly into Scamozzi’s

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purview, gaining enormously in relevance whenhe prevailed in the competition for the commis-sion to complete and to continue Sansovino’sLibrary, a commission which would require himto build numerous exact replicas of Sansovino’sIonic Serlian windows, which were also repeat-ed in Scamozzi’s continuation of the Libreria’sarchitecture in the Procuratie Nuove32. In thiscontext Scamozzi had occasion to documentthese windows in two drawings, now belongingto the collection of the Uffizi (192 A and 193A)33. It is, in addition, interesting that on these

21. Venice, Palazzo Ducale, vault of the Chiesetta altar.

22. Rome, Santi Luca e Martina, apsis,detail.

23. Venice, San Salvatore, Venier Monument: soffit of central arch (photo Ch. Davis).

24. Venice, Libreria Marciana: soffit of Ionic window (photo Ch. Davis).

two drawings Scamozzi inscribes no less thanseven annotations relating to architectural light-ing, for instance, “Calle dove ricevano lumiqueste due Fabriche...”, “Calle per lumi...”,“Requia per dare lume à diverse cose”, etc.Despite Scamozzi’s well-known criticisms of theerrors of the “fabbriche di Piazza”34, his projectto complete and amplify Sansovino’s architec-ture on the Piazza San Marco implies a long anddeep acquaintance with Sansovino’s Library, andthus an intimate knowledge of the Florentine’sVenetian architecture.

In any event, Scamozzi’s re-use of the Sanso-

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vino giant Ionic windows as a statuary niche inthe Doge’s Palace was determined, in part, bythe function of the altar, which was destined toreceive Sansovino’s statuary group as the “cosacontenuta”. Following a completely naturalsense of decorum Scamozzi designs a fitting‘container’ for the marble group in a Sansovi-nesque manner. The motive of the serliana con-tratta was, on the other hand, one that experi-enced a not negligible fortuna in Scamozzi’s ownarchitecture. It reappears, in 1611, in his projectfor the Palazzo Comunale di Bergamo, now as awindow35, and it can also be traced in the illus-trations of Scamozzi’s Architettura universale, as,for instance, in the plate showing the PalazzoCornaro, projected for the Canal Grande at SanMaurizio36. The most instructive instance ofScamozzi’s re-use of this motive is, however,found in the palace of the “Magnifici SignoriStrozzi” in Florence. This is the enormous Flo-rentine palace, better known as the PalazzoNonfinito, which Roberto Strozzi, then residingin Venice, “si risolse di edificare”, writesScamozzi, “secondo i nostri Disegni e Model-lo”, a construction erected largely in the absenceof the architect37. At the south side of the Borgodegli Albizi, above the lateral entranceway andhigh above street level, we discover an unex-pected reappearance of the so-called serliana ofthe Palazzo Ducale Chiesetta Altar, now trans-formed to fulfil its original function as a win-dow, and, once again, it is furnished with abalustraded balcony, as it appeared originally inSansovino’s Library. Comparing Scamozzi’sPalazzo Strozzi window with his altar in Venice,we may discern a number of correspondencesand variances: (1) the smaller-scale columns(and pilasters) of the minor order, all furnishedwith all the attributes of an architectural order,(2) the pulvinate frieze, (3) the Venetian con-tropilastri now transformed into angle pilastersat the two sides, their function remainingunchanged, (4) the Palazzo Strozzi arch, nowsomewhat retracted in its vertical extension tomake way for the insertion of a large architec-tural inscription which takes the form of a car-toccio, such large building inscriptions beingmuch to Scamozzi’s taste. In the ground plans ofthe two Scamozzi designs we can, moreover,observe an identical separation of the binateorders: the columns and pilasters are distancedfrom one another in depth. In both cases thepartition of the archivolt follows Sansovinesqueformulas, derived from antique ceiling coffer-ing. In a comparison of the elevations of theIonic windows of Sansovino’s Libreria and theIonic window of Scamozzi’s Palazzo Strozzi,Scamozzi’s debts become even more apparent,especially as regards the general architecturalarrangement. Variations in the inflection of

25. Elevation of Ionic window of Libreria Marciana, Venice (based on G. Samonà et al., Piazza San Marco, Padova 1970,p. 106).

26. Plan of Ionic window of Libreria Marciana, Venice (based on G. Samonà et al., Piazza San Marco, Padova 1970,p. 106).

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27. Venice, Libreria Marciana, blind ‘serliana contratta’ on the landing of staircase (photo M. Morresi).

28. Venice, Libreria Marciana, blind ‘serliana contratta’ in vestibule of the ‘scalone’ (after M. Tafuri, Sansovino,Padova 1969).

29. Venice, Libreria Marciana, double ‘serliana contratta’ in the ‘Scalone’ (after G. Samonà et al., Piazza SanMarco, Padova 1970, p.163).

architectural vocabulary aside, it is evident thatScamozzi has derived the idea for the largerbinate Ionic order, which frames the serliana con-tratta, from the corner resolution (cantonale) ofSansovino’s Library, which is likewise distin-guished by a binate order on both levels38. Inaddition are noteworthy the smaller columns ofthe arch, barely detached from the flankingpilasters, the keystone, which takes the form of adraped female head, the pulvinate frieze, thewindow balcony with balusters, and the Ionicorder, present in two distinct dimensional scales.

A few critical modifications, introduced byScamozzi, can be detected, such as the highbases of the orders (which, however, are, in part,heightened to compensate for the extraordinari-ly oblique and deforming viewpoint imposed bythe very narrow street below, bordering on thesouth side of the palace). Finally the archivoltsof the Strozzi arch reflect closely the archivoltsof the ground-level arcade of the Marciana. Therhythmic partition is not identical, but it followsthe same logic of squares and rectangles in arhythmic sequence.

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30. Vincenzo Scamozzi, Plan of the Libreria Marciana in Venice (Firenze,Uffizi, Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, 192 A).

31. Vincenzo Scamozzi, Project forLibreria Marciana and the ProcuratieNuove in Venice (Firenze, Uffizi, Gabinetto Disegni e Stampe, 194 A).

32. Procuratie Nuove in Venice,engraving (“J. Bury et Jourdan del.”, “J. Bury et Ribaut sc.”, 19th century).

Returning to the linked themes of statuaryexposition and the architecture of light, it canscarcely come as a surprise that these two topicsplay a significant rôle in the thought of the ‘com-pleat’ architect, Vincenzo Scamozzi, whose pen-sieroappears based on an intellectual compilationreflecting a vast, classically inspired culture, norcan it surprise that these two topics foundexpression in Scamozzi’s architectural practice.In this context, it is sufficient to recall, amongScamozzi’s ‘allestimenti statuari’, his well-knownsistematisation of the Museo Grimani collectionof ancient sculptures in the Antisala of the Libre-ria Sansoviniana in order to constitute the newStatuario Pubblico, immediately prior toScamozzi’s transformation of the Chiesetta in theDoge’s Palace (where in fact Grimani statues hadbeen previously housed)39. In addition, mentionmust be made of two ‘teatri’ of statues: the Palla-dian Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, whereScamozzi constructed the splendid proscenium,with its square-headed statuary niches patternedon the statuary tabernacles of the Roman Pan-theon40, and, further, the Teatro Ducale at Sab-bioneta, built to Scamozzi’s order for Vespasiano

Gonzaga, where, inter alia, is noteworthy thedramatic motive of the colossal busts all’anticaplaced on high pedestals and collocated in giantniches set in the intercolumniations of the peri-style, a design motive, as has been mentioned,deriving from the Pantheon portico.

The typology of statuary spaces – Scamozzi’s‘contenitori di statue’ – includes a variety oftypes: the chapel-altar (as in the Doge’s Palace),the mausoleum, the galleria41, the tribune42, theantiquarium (to display a collection of ancientsculpture)43, and also the abstract typology pro-posed in Scamozzi’s “sala rotonda”, an idealmodel elaborated on the pattern of statuary dis-plays in classical antiquity44. The theme of statu-ary display fascinated many Renaissance archi-tects, as, for example, Antonio Labacco andAndrea Palladio, both of whose visions ofancient architecture imagined a universe of stat-ue-inhabited edifices45.

Viewed in broad terms, it is clear that archi-tectural spaces specifically destined to housestatuary displays, as well as the exposition ofpaintings, represent a more than marginalaspect of Renaissance architecture; witness, to

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33. Plan and elevation of Palazzo Nonfinitowindow-loggia in Florence (F. Ruggieri,Scelta di architetture antiche e modernedi Firenze, Firenze 1755, III, pl. 21).

34. Venice, Libreria Marciana, vestibule(‘Statuario pubblico’) (photo Dida Biggi).

35. Statues in the ‘Tempio nel Foro di Traiano’ (Antonio Labacco, Libro d’Antonio Labacco appartenente a l’architettura, Roma 1552).

mention only the most important category, thearchitecture of churches, with their endlessarray of chapels and altars. And, despite thisfact, within the context of statuary spaces, thoseilluminated by a true architecture of light arenot highly numerous, even though, it must beadmitted, the most signal examples comprisewithin their time a group of exceptionally sig-nificant architectural achievements.

Among them, the Medici Chapel at SanLorenzo in Florence takes the first place: thespace is white, the architecture, ‘bi-colore’,black-white, and light enters from above, fromthe high windows and the lantern of the dome,creating the clear diffuse illumination most suit-able to rendering the chapel’s statues legible. Inturn, the Del Monte Chapel in San Pietro inMontorio in Rome, built under the watchful eyeof Michelangelo, is distinguished by its mea-sured, coolly-lit marble whiteness, devoid ofintricate decorative marble carvings, which, inthe opinion of Buonarroti, would have onlyobfuscated our view of the marble statues, andthus the planned relief intaglios were omitted,following the precise instructions of the master46.

The Antiquarium of the Venetian PalazzoGrimani near Santa Maria Formosa is a highlyindividual re-edition of the scheme of the ‘Stat-uario mediceo’ in the Sagrestia Nuova of SanLorenzo. The Tribune of Palazzo Grimani, ifnot white, is in essence ‘bi-colore’ and of a uni-form lightness and clarity, illuminated by the“lume vivo” which comes from above47. Similar,

too, is the Pellegrini Chapel at San Bernardinoin Verona: here the architecture of Sanmicheli isequally white and equally heir to the CappellaMedicea. In Verona the missing statuary appara-to is implicit in the Leerstellen of the vacant nich-es, as, for example, also in the Ricetto of theLibreria Laurenziana. In the Libreria Sansoviniana,the Statuario Pubblico, destined to house a partof Giovanni Grimani’s collection of ancient stat-uary, represents the apex of Scamozzi’s ambi-tions realized in this genre.

If we turn now to reconsider more closely theinnovative system of illumination devised byScamozzi for the Altar of the Chiesetta in thePalazzo Ducale, it will be possible to indicate alikely Roman origin for this luministic innova-tion. Scamozzi’s intimate knowledge of the cityof Rome cannot be in doubt, even if it has notbeen completely studied48. In addition to hisvery long youthful sojourn there, undertakenexplicitly to study the remains of antiquity,Scamozzi visited the city numerous times duringthe course of his later life49. An extensive net-work of personal contacts and patrons alsolinked him to the eternal city. The fruit ofScamozzi’s study of Rome extended beyond hisantiquarian learning to include a considerableknowledge of modern Roman architecture. Tohis interest in modern architecture testify themany references to modern building containedin the Architettura universale50.

In Rome, in the church of Sant’Andrea in ViaFlaminia, in a diminutive Pantheon destined to

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36. Sant’Andrea in via Flaminia in Rome (G. Stern, Piante […] degli edifici della villa suburbana di GiulioIII, Roma 1784).

contain paintings, Giacomo Barozzi il Vignolacreated an independent source of light specifi-cally to illuminate the main altar: in the shallowapse, Vignola opens two small rectangular win-dows at the sides of the arch high above the altarwith the intention of increasing the illuminationof the pala51. He thereby anticipates not onlyScamozzi’s altar in the Palazzo Ducale, but alsoRoman baroque experiments with lighting52.Scamozzi’s interest in Vignola’s architecturalworks has been noted more than once, andScamozzi’s familiarity with Vignola’s writings isdocumented in his own53. The two architectsboth pursued a conservative architectural direc-tion, and both were employed by patrons of aCounter-Reform tendency54. Indeed, in the ovalcupolas of the perimetral chapels of Scamozzi’schurch of San Gaetano in Padua one can recog-nize a specific debt on the part of Scamozzi to

Vignola’s small temple of Sant’Andrea, with itsinnovative oval cupola55.

Natural light is a crucial component of archi-tecture, and before the widespread introductionof artificial illumination it was indeed a sine quanon of the architecture of interior spaces. Whilelight has not escaped the attention of scholars,and while the centrality of light in modern andcontemporary architecture can scarcely be over-estimated, the topic of light in architecture, inmany ways as fugitive and fleeting as light itself,has seldom been treated comprehensively andsystematically as an historical phenomenon56.Nevertheless, considering only the Veneto priorto Scamozzi, attention has often been drawn tothe luminist sensibility of Mauro Codussi, ofJacopo Sansovino and of Andrea Palladio57.

In attempting to follow the principal line ofdevelopment that leads to the Roman baroque,

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37. Rome, Santa Bibiana, altar of Santa Bibiana by Gian Lorenzo Bernini (photo Ch. Davis).

38. Pietro da Cortona, Project drawingfor the high altar of San Giovanni deiFiorentini in Rome, 1684 (WindsorCastle).

39. Plan and elevation, after Bernini, of Raimondi Chapel apse, San Pietro in Montorio, Rome (G.G. Rossi, Disegnidi vari altari e cappelle delle chiese di Roma, Roma [169?], pl. 8).

it is not imperative to review every step that ulti-mately leads to Gian Lorenzo Bernini’s Ecstasy ofSt. Teresa in the Cappella Cornaro of SantaMaria della Vittoria in Rome. Instead it is moreinformative to concentrate on three examples,all Roman and all later than Scamozzi’s PalazzoDucale Altar. Each embodies an innovative andexperimental resolution of the need for illumi-nation, with solutions very analogous toScamozzi’s precocious altar design. These threeprojects are: (1) Bernini’s altar to Santa Bibianain the church of the same name, (2) a project byPietro da Cortona for the main altar of San Gio-vanni dei Fiorentini, and (3) the Cappella Rai-mondi in the church of San Pietro in Montorio,again by Bernini58.

In the instance of the Altar of Santa Bibiana,ca. 1625, in addition to the large lunette-shaped window in the vault, one of the com-partments of the decoration of the arch abovethe altar is opened for light to enter, creating asecondary light source to supplement the pri-mary one. This second lateral light sourceshines upon the upraised face of the saint,adding emphasis and concentration, in aneffect not dissimilar to the action of light inScamozzi’s earlier Venetian altar. In both, lighthas an integrative, focusing function.

In Pietro da Cortona’s project drawing of1534 for the high altar of San Giovanni deiFiorentini (Royal Library, Windsor Castle),here following the instructive analysis of KarlNoehles, we may see that the architect devisesan ingenious method to introduce light onto thepala of the altar, a large marble bas-relief of theBaptism of Christ, by creating openings in the

zone behind and at the sides of the altar59. In theplan of the altar, at the bottom of the Windsordrawing, one observes that light shafts areopened in the walls behind the two columnsflanking the pala, and that light enters from theback of the apse through two angled passages.Thus the wall behind the pala is recessed, creat-ing a space resembling a shallow stage, on whichappear the figures carved in relief, and it is illu-minated by light sources hidden in the wings. InCortona’s plan, daylight, attenuated and dif-fused, filters through the concealed windows toilluminate the altarpiece, its source masked bythe columns placed in the outlets of the lightshafts. Not only the system of illumination butalso the planimetric richness of Cortona’s pro-ject present parallels to Scamozzi’s altar in theDoge’s Palace.

In the Cicogna Altar in Venice, the screen ofcolumns lit from behind is also comparable,planimetrically and in its effect, to the design ofthe main altar of Bernini’s church of Sant’An-drea al Quirinale, where the screen of columns,disposed ‘a transenna’ (i.e., the double flankingcolumns of the aedicule that frames the openingonto the semicircular main altar chapel), standsbefore an illuminated space, lit by natural lightstreaming down from the windows of thelantern above, conferring a strong luminosity tothe main altar in contrast to the dimmer interi-or of the church and the darker chapels adjoin-ing the altar chapel60.

In the Cappella Raimondi of San Pietro inMontorio (1640-47), Bernini realizes a solutionsimilar to that embodied in Cortona’s projectdrawing. The pala, a relief carved in marble, is in

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40. Rome, San Pietro in Montorio, Raimondi Chapel, exterior (I. Lavin, Bernini e l’unità delle arti visive, Roma1980).

fact detached from its columnar architecturalframe, and it is recessed some distance behindthis cornice. In the ensuing interval, betweenthe columns and the bas-relief altarpiece depict-ing the Ecstasy of St. Francis, Bernini opens in thelateral exterior wall, at the left, a single highnarrow window. Thus from a nearly concealedlateral source abundant light unfolds over themarble altarpiece, a light which imparts a moreample illumination and a more focussed, accen-tuated lighting to the dramatic image of St.Francis in ecstasy. With this provision of asource of “luce vivo e naturale”, introducedfrom the exterior, Bernini creates a system ofillumination very similar to that of Scamozzi’sVenetian altar, where, however, light is broughtin from both sides of the altar in order to estab-lish an equilibrium of light sources.

Scamozzi’s Altar in the Ducal Chapel in theDoge’s Palace, in fact, anticipates these solu-tions of the Roman baroque by more than threedecades, but it would perhaps be mistaken toattribute too great a significance to this tempo-ral discrepancy, and to conclude that the Venet-ian altar is simply a tentative provincial experi-ment, peripheral, isolated from the main line ofdevelopment and without subsequent echo. Incontrast to such an assessment stands not mere-ly the extraordinary urbanity of the architectur-al language which Scamozzi speaks in theChiesetta, but also his apparent reference toVignola’s Sant’Andrea in Via Flaminia, and pos-sibly even the close parallels with later Romanexperiments in altar lighting.

While Scamozzi appears almost completelyextraneous to the decorative tendency of late-Cinquecento Venetian architecture, often of aVittorian stamp, this does not imply that hisarchitecture is provincial, or confined in itsimplications to the Venetian Lagoon. Indeed, itseems more correct to describe him as cos-mopolitan, a formulation which finds justifica-tion in Scamozzi’s privileged formation, in hispersonal contacts that extended far beyondVenice and his native Vicenza, in his many andfar-flung journeys in Italy and beyond the Alps,all of which render him far more cosmopolitanthan many of his contemporaries in the Veneto.The example of the Altar of the Doge’s Chapel,beautiful, and rich in its invention, lends itself tounderline the urbanity of the universal architec-ture of Vincenzo Scamozzi61.

At the same time the historical relationshipthat Scamozzi’s own concern with light had withthe luminist achievements of the Romanbaroque remains, in part, to be clarified. Onemay suspect the existence of missing links. Afuture investigation including a more ample,more nearly exhaustive survey of the monu-ments of Italy outside the Urbs might reveal

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41. Round temple, plan (Sebastiano Serlio, Quinto libro di architettura, Venezia1559, fol. 2r).

42. Round temple, elevation and section(Serlio, Quinto libro…, cit., fol. 2v).

43. Temple (plan) and niches (elevations)(Sebastiano Serlio, I sette libri dell’architettura, Venezia 1584, VII, ch.xlviii, p. 113).

further significant anticipations of baroquelight, ones equally important for the history ofarchitectural and sculptural illumination asScamozzi’s Altar in the Doge’s Palace.

Glancing backward in time, it is possible, inconclusion to suggest one further concrete stim-ulus for Scamozzi’s concern with architecturalillumination. This is the “Quinto Libro d’Ar-chitettura di Sebastiano Serlio Bolognese, Nelquale si tratta di diverse forme di Tempij sacri,secondo il costume Christiano, & al modo anti-co”. The interest of Vincenzo Scamozzi and ofhis father Gian Domenico in Serlio’s books iswell known, and it is manifest in their “copiosoindice” to these books62.

While considerations concerning lightappear in Renaissance architectural treatises asearly as Alberti’s, and while a similar interest cansometimes be traced in Renaissance architectur-al drawings63, and although every window testi-fies to the rôle of light in architecture, neverthe-less both the text and the figures of Serlio’s Quin-to libro are remarkable for their explication ofphenomena of architectural light. In Book V thisis particularly evident in the first group of tem-ples, which represent central-plan Christiantemples. Serlio’s first concern is to assure a suffi-cient illumination of the interior, but it is clearthat he admires fully-lit, bright interiors evenmore (“ben chiaro”). Serlio is also concernedwith the shapes, forms and positioning of aper-tures and windows to admit light; with theirnames, their number and their dimensions, par-ticularly in relation to the interior dimensions;with light-admitting lanterns, with their glazingand with their height and diameter in proportionto those of the interior space; with the illumina-tion of secondary spaces. For his second octago-nal temple, Serlio proposes, in order to increasethe level of illumination, opening an aperture atthe top of the vault and covering it with a glasspyramid (“Quanto alla luce di questo Tempio, lefinestre potrebbon servire: nondimeno chi vorràmaggior luce potrà fare un’aperatura nella som-mità della volta, coperta così piramidalmente di

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vetri, accioche le nevi, et li ghiacci non vi siritenghino”, p. 208r, fig. at p. 209t). Withinsome of Serlio’s central-plan temples may befound altars with windows directly above them(figs. at pp. 204r, 204t, 205r, 207t, 208r, 209t,211r, etc.). The theme of altar illumination isexplicitly raised in the instance of a longitudinalchurch (p. 219r), where the “quadro”, that is, thepala, of the altar will be a painting, and it willreceive completely adequate light (“Il quadrosopra l’altare, sarà per una pittura, et haverà laluce molto accomodata...”, p. 219; figs. at pp.219r, 219t left): this full illumination is accom-plished through double light shafts which areopened in the apse of the “cappella maggiore”,on both sides of the altar. The opening of later-al apertures and windows to introduce lightingfrom the sides is a characteristic of a number ofSerlio’s temple designs (see the figures on pp.203r, 203t, 204t, 205r, 205t, etc.), and such lat-eral windows, at least on occasion, even require,for the sake of symmetry, the introduction of ablind window (“finestra morta”, p. 209r; fig. p.210r). More observations about architecturalillumination can be traced in Serlio’s Book VII.Here Serlio returns to the theme of laterallylighted chapels, and, in Chapter XLVIII, heexpounds a longitudinal temple plan with fourlarge niches excavated in the lateral walls. Thelarge concave perimetral niches permit openinglight shafts through the exterior walls reachinginto the six lateral chapels (fig. at p. 113). “Dallilati di fuori di esso tempio saranno quattro nic-chi per banda: per li quali le capelle prenderannola luce”. This system of lateral lighting repre-sents in nuce the same system of illumination thatScamozzi instituted in his windows, half-con-cealed in a labyrinth of columns, at the two sidesof the Cicogna Altar of the Madonna di SanMarco in the Doge’s Palace.

Serlio’s particular interest in architecturallight may have been inspired by BaldassarrePeruzzi, and it is foreshadowed in certain draw-ings of Francesco di Giorgio, for instance, Uffizi331 A64, inscribed “luce” in the oculus of thecupola, and by other drawings, copies after orig-inal drawings by Francesco di Giorgio’s, foundin the Codex Ashburnham 1828 App. of the Bib-lioteca Laurenziana: architectural plans, mostlycentralized, with the indication “lume superfi-ciale” signifying light from above, toplighting,in the manner of the Pantheon65. Serlio’s centralplan churches in Book V recall drawings byPeruzzi, whose church elevation drawings oftenreflect a specific interest in the sources of illu-mination, for instance, Peruzzi’s elevation viewof the interior of San Domenico in Siena (Ash-molean, Talman 40, 31 [468]), with its brilliant-ly lit ‘teoria di finestre’, including in the centre,lunettes filled by giant, open serliane66.

46. Baldassarre Peruzzi, San Domenico, Siena, section (Oxford, AshmoleanMuseum; after H. Wurm, Peruzzi Architekturzeichnungen, Tübingen1984, p. 233).

1. The present text was presented at theXVI Seminario internazionale di storiadell’architettura “Vincenzo Scamozzi(1548-1616). Alla riscoperta di un prota-gonista: L’Idea dell’architettura nella teo-ria e nella pratica”, 15-20 June 1998,organized by the Centro Internazionaledi Studi di Architettura ‘Andrea Palladio’in Vicenza (hereafter: Seminario Scamoz-zi, 1998) and it was subsequently presen-ted at a conference held at the Universitàdi Udine, 27-28 October 2000, Alessan-dro Vittoria e l’arte veneta della Maniera,with the title, Un allestimento di VincenzoScamozzi in Palazzo Ducale. An initialstudy of the Scamozzi altar began, in1981, during the preparations for a lec-ture, Scultura e luce, at the conference,Bernini e il barocco europeo, 12-17 January1981 (a selection of contributions prin-ted in: M. Fagiolo (ed.), Gian LorenzoBernini e le arti visive, Roma1987). Thepresent version is based on an originalItalian text. A useful and detailed, if notalways complete citation of the literatureuntil around 1994 concerning the worksof Scamozzi mentioned in the presenttext may be found in: D. Breiner, Vincen-zo Scamozzi, 1548-1616: A catalogue rai-sonné, Ithaca 1994 (University Micro-films International, Dissertation Servi-ce), 1113 pp.; for specific buildings andprojects, see: ‘Table of Contents’. Thisdissertation retains a somewhat prelimi-nary character, providing neither asynthetic analysis of Scamozzi’s entireœuvre nor a comprehensive and comple-ted catalogue raisonné. Reference mustbe made to earlier studies, includingthose of F. Barbieri (e.g., Vincenzo Sca-mozzi, Verona-Vicenza 1952), G.B. Gle-ria (Vincenzo Scamozzi e Venezia, tesi dilaurea, IUAV, Venezia, 1982), L. Puppi,M. Tafuri and others. For relevant illu-strations, see also: F. Barbieri, La RoccaPisana di Vincenzo Scamozzi, Vicenza1985; F. Barbieri, Palazzo Trissino Baston,Vicenza 1996. References to later litera-ture can be found in a recent treatmentof most of the important architecturalworks of Scamozzi: R. Franz, VincenzoScamozzi (1548-1616), Nachfolger undVollender Palladios, Petersberg 1999,based on the author’s University ofVienna dissertation. See also: W. Lipp-mann, Der Salzburger Dom 1598-1630,Weimar 1999 (Diss. Bonn 1992). Thus thenotes to the present text are addressed pri-marily to specific points, and I have notattempted to cite every work consulted, orevery important or relevant contributionto the topics discussed. Relatively recentlexica (e.g., the Grove Dictionary of Art andthe Macmillan Encyclopedia of Architects)contain entries for Scamozzi, and manylibrary catalogues are available online(e.g., the Verbund-OPAC of the Germanart history institutes in Florence, Munichand Rome: http://www.kubikat.org/ ). If,on 28 May 2002, http://www.google.com/produced 1,070 results with the simplesearch entry ‘Vincenzo Scamozzi’, theneed for recapitulative citation requiresreconsideration, as does indeed the enti-re academic paraphernalia of citation,and this, even in light of the often-remarked ‘mushrooming’ of literature onart and architecture that has marked themost recent decades. For the San Salva-tore lanterns, see Breiner, Vincenzo Sca-mozzi…, cit. [cf. supra], VI, 1, pp. 660-663 (with bibl.); also M. Tafuri, Venezia eil Rinascimento, Torino 1985, figs. 17-18;

Franz, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit. supra,pp. 17f., doubts Scamozzi’s rôle. Seefurther: Antonio Visentini, Catalogue ofthe Drawings of the Royal Institute ofBritish Architects, ed. J. McAndrew,Farnborough 1974, fig. 85.For comments, corrections, suggestions, infor-mation and assistance offered at various times, Iam grateful to Margaret Daly Davis, SilviaFoschi, Giovanni Battista Gleria, Marco Colla-reta, Ulrich Middeldorf and Manuela Morresi.

2. Vincenzo Scamozzi, L’idea della archi-tettura universale, pref. F. Barbieri, intro.W. Oechslin, reprint of ed. Venezia1615, I-II, Vicenza 1997, I, ii, ch. xiii,pp. 137-139; hereafter cited as ‘Idea’.This text is discussed in a recent disser-tation: A.M. Borys, Vincenzo Scamozzi,Inventor: Architectural Demonstrationsfrom the Last Renaissance Treatise, Phila-delphia 1998, pp. 70-72. I have not seenM. Frascari, A Secret Semiotic Skiography,in “VIA”, 2, 1990, pp. 32-51, who appa-rently sees Scamozzi’s villa-light dia-gram as an “inhabited sundial”, a sha-dow tracer that does not acknowledge anideal position of the sun, but ratherseems to indicate the power of architec-tural section drawing (of architecturalshadows, skiographia) to conjure a poten-tial order for architecture, its “light”,disclosing the relationship between the“soul” and the “body” of the villa(http://www.health.library.mcgill.ca/publish/Osn194.pfd [p.3]).

3. Idea, iii, ch. xiv, pp. 278f. Marco Colla-reta has drawn my attention to Scamozzi’sdependence for the terms of his typologyof light on the writings of Gian PaoloLomazzo (1548, 1590); see Giovan PaoloLomazzo, Scritti sulle arti, ed. R.P. Ciardi,Pisa 1973, I, pp. 324-327, II, pp. 186-214and ad Indicem ‘lume’ (“celeste”, “diret-to”, “riflesso”, “rifratto”, “da alto”, etc.).

4. Vincenzo Scamozzi, Discorsi sopra l’an-tichità di Roma, 1582, reprint of ed. Vene-zia 1582, intro. L. Olivato, Milano 1991.

5. Baths of Diocletian: repr. in ibid., pp.xvi-xvii.

6. For instance, Idea, I, pp. 272, 276, 278,280, 283, 285, 292, 314, 315, etc. The“Descrit[tione] di alcune fabricheMod[erne]” included at the end of Gio-vanni Stringa’s edition of Francesco San-sovino’s Venetia citta nobilissima et singola-re (Venezia 1604, cc. 426v-432v) is,Stringa writes, “come un breve compen-dio della vita dello Scamozzi”, treatingexclusively works by Scamozzi. Thisquasi-autobiographical text essentiallyrepeats, with a few retouches, a text fur-nished to Stringa by Scamozzi, and writ-ten by him (“quella compita, & realeinformatione, che desiderava così dacolui, che di esse è stato l’Architetto, ilqual’è Vincenzo Scamozzi [… ora …]havute le informationi necessari…”). Inthe Libreria, Scamozzi builds stairways,“con una requia per ricevere lumi fraessi” (c. 429v); in the Statuario pubblico,“nichie”, “dalle quali vengono lumiabondanti” (c. 429v); at San Nicola daTolentino, “Le Cappelle hanno lumi daalcune lunette sotto alle loro volte, et peraltre lune [=lume] più ad alto (sopra allecornici, et ad esse Capelle) vengonoabbondati lumi disposti quà, e là per ilcorpo maggiore della Chiesa” (c. 430v).

7. See, e.g., Idea, I, pp. 231, 237, 312,316, 319, 320, 321; II, pp. 161, 315f., etc.

8. Sebastiano Serlio, Tutte l’opere d’Archi-tettura di Sebastiano Serlio […] et un Indi-ce Copiosissimo Raccolto per via di considera-tioni da M. Gio. Domenico Scamozzi, Vene-zia, “presso Francesco de’ FranceschiSenese”, 1584, III, fol. 50. Cf. Vasari’sparenthesis on the Pantheon early in the‘vita’ of Andrea Sansovino, who observedthe “tondo del mezzo di sopra cioè doveha il lume quel tempio [‘della Riton-da’]…” (Giorgio Vasari, Vite, Milano1963, IV, p. 193). Cf. C. Conforti (ed.),Lo specchio del cielo. Forme significati tecni-che e funzioni della cupola dal Pantheon alNovecento, Milano 1997.

9. Serlio, Tutte l’opere…, cit. [cf. note 8],I, ‘Tavola’, fol. d2r. The “indice copo-siossimo” is presented as compiled “pervia di considerationi da M. Gio. Dome-nico Scamozzi”, but it was largely com-piled and revised by his son, Vincenzo,whose personal additions are marked assuch, in this as well as in the subsequentrevisions of 1600 and 1619.

10. ‘Cosa contenuta’; ‘continente’: see Idea,II, vi, ch. xxxv, p. 169: “mà in questo casonoi lodiamo più tosto qualche medio-crità, che dar nell’estremo di tante deli-catezze: e perciò bastera, che siano fode-rate di pietre, come le altre parti: perchequanto meno la Nicchie sono ornate didentro tanto più fanno comparere belle,e riguardevoli le statue; si perche il conti-nente (come atrove dicemmo) non sia piùnobile, e bello della cosa contenuta; e sìanco per levare il pericolo dell’esseroffesse, e spogliate, e guaste, & anco perfuggir la molta spesa”.

11. Celestia: G.B. Gleria, Il progetto scamoz-ziano per la chiesa della Celestia a Venezia, in“Ricerche di storia dell’arte”, 21, 1983,pp. 97-109; cf. Chatsworth drawing: fig.73, in Lippmann, Der Salzburger Dom, cit.[cf. note 1] (cf. the multiple light sourcesin Scamozzi’s designs for Salzburg). Also:G.B. Gleria, La chiesa della Celestia, at theSeminario Scamozzi, 1998.

12. San Nicola dei Tolentini: G.B. Gleria,Vincenzo Scamozzi e il progetto per la chiesadi San Nicolò da Tolentino, in “Quaderni diPalazzo Te,” 5, July-Dec. 1985, pp. 44-58; N. De Battisti, Vincenzo Scamozzi e lachiesa di S. Nicola da Tolentino, diss.,IUAV, Venezia, 1985. S. Gaetano: G. Bre-sciani Alvarez, Architettura a Padova, ed.G. Lorenzoni, G. Mazzi, G. Vivianetti,intro. L. Puppi, Padova 1999, pp. 333-348, figs. 141-149; R. Conte, La chiesa eil monastero di San Gaetano a Padova, atSeminario Scamozzi. Monselice: L. Puppiand L. Olivato Puppi, Scamozziana, in“Antichità viva”, 13, 4, 1974, pp. 54-80;R. Ghidotti, Le sette chiese: Santuario giu-bilare in Monselice, Monselice 1998.

13. Casa antica romana: Idea, I, iii, ch. iv,pp. 232-221 [=235].

14. Sabbioneta: P. Carpeggiani, Sabbione-ta, Mantova 1972, pp. 34-38, 88-94; A.Paolucci, A. Cininelli et al., Il Teatroall’antico di Sabbioneta, Modena 1991,with excellent ills. Pantheon portico giantniches: Idea, II, p. 168.19-21: “Ancora iNicchi sono di due sorti cioè, ò principa-li, e grandi, e queste le adimandamo Nic-

chie: perche possono haver dentro diesse de’ Nicchi minori: altri ne sono poidi mediocri. Delle prime sono, come ledue sotto il Portico della Rotonda…”.

15. ‘Nicchi’: Idea, II, p. 168.46-47; cf.‘nicchi’, ad Indicem (61.26, 76.24, 168.12,123.9, 168.27, 50.41, 168.3, 88.11,168.31, 78.48, 168.34, 13.43).

16. F. Ongania and B. Cecchetti (eds.),Documenti per la storia dell’augusta ducalebasilica di San Marco in Venezia, Venezia1886, pp. 34-41, nos. 199-214; B. Bou-cher, The Sculpture of Jacopo Sansovino,New Haven-London 1991, pp. 102-104,327-329 (selected literature), documentnos. 87, 91, 252, 295ff., 302, 304. Sanso-vino’s statuary group was very possibly‘finished’ in Scamozzi’s day. The ‘signatu-re’ OPVS JACOBI SANSOVINI FLO-RENTINI is not contemporary with thestatue; cf. the Palazzo Ducale Mars andNeptune, inscribed OPVS IACOBISANSOVINI F., also not contemporary.

17. Prior to the Scamozzi ‘Seminario’ inJune 1998 (see note 1), Scamozzi’sproject for the altar of the Doge’s Chapelhad been only mentioned briefly in pas-sing; cf. the entry in Breiner, VincenzoScamozzi…, cit. [cf. note 1], V.12, pp.624-628, with literature which scarcelyenlarges what Temanza wrote in 1770-78: “Ordinò pure l’altare della CappellaDucale del Palazzo vicina al Collegio, sulquale fu collocata la statua di marmo dinostra Donna, con vari puttini dintorno,scolpita dal Sansovino” (T. Temanza, Vitedei più celebri architetti e scultori veneziani,Venezia 1778, p. 425). Not mentioned inBreiner or Boucher is: F. Zanotto, IlPalazzo Ducale di Venezia, Venezia 1858,II, pl. CI and pp. 1-4, with plan and ele-vation. Subsequent to the Scamozzi‘Seminario’ the altar has been treated ina Technische Universität Berlin disserta-tion: S. Martin, Venezianische Bildhaueraltä-re und ihre Auftraggeber 1530-1620, Mik-rofiche Ausgabe, Marburg 1998 (basedon professional photographs made fol-lowing my instructions and preliminaryphotographs in 1982, in part publishedin Boucher, The sculpture…, cit. [cf. note16], pls. 121-123. Valuable illustrativematerial in: A. Zorzi, E. Bassi, T. Pigna-ti and C. Semenzato (eds.), Il PalazzoDucale, Torino 1971; colour pl. also in:E.R. Trincanato and G. Mariacher (eds.),Il Palazzo Ducale di Venezia, Firenze1966. On the statuary group in theDoge’s Palace: Francesco Sansovino,Venetia citta nobilissima et singolare… InVenetia: Appresso Iacomo Sansouino,1581, cc. 123v, 124v, 132v-133r; Girola-mo Bardi, in Francesco Sansovino, Dellecose notabili della citta di Venetia […] conl’aggionta della dichiaratione delle istorie[…] del palagio Ducale […] Fatta da Giro-lamo Bardi fiorentino, Venezia 1587 (ed.pr. 1584); Sansovino, Venetia citta nobilis-sima…, cit. [cf. note 6], cc. 231v-232r,430r; Francesco Sansovino, Venetia cittanobilissima et singolare […] Con aggiunta ditutte le cose notabili […] da d. GiustinianoMartinioni, Venezia 1663, pp. 336-337,362; G.A. Moschini, Guida per la città diVenezia, Venezia 1815, I, pp. 427-428; F.Scolari, Della vita e delle opere dell’architet-to Vincenzo Scamozzi, Treviso 1837, p. 42;G. Lorenzetti, Venezia e il suo estuario:guida storico-artistica, Venezia 1926, p.248 (1593); J. Schulz, Cristoforo Sorte and

191

the Ducal Palace of Venice, in “Mitteilun-gen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes inFlorenz,” 10, 1964, pp. 207f., doc. 3(before 24 April 1582); W. Wolters, DerProgrammentwurf zur Dekoration desDogenpalastes nach 1577, in “Mitteilun-gen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes inFlorenz,” 12, 1966, p. 300; S. Sinding-Larsen, Christ in the Council Hall, in“Acta ad archaeologiam et artium histo-riam pertinentia”, 5, 1974 (3). The date,1593, that Lorenzetti gives for the risi-stematisation of the Chiesetta appearsgenerally confirmed by Scamozzi’saccount of his ‘Statuario pubblico’ inStringa’s edition of Sansovino’s Venetia(1604): “…e parimente vi sono anco lestatue, che erano nella sala già detta dalleteste, dove hora è la Chiesiola nel palaz-zo di sua Serenità regolata dal medesimoArchitetto [i.e., Scamozzi]” (c. 430r).Scamozzi dates the ‘Museo’ to “1591”,suggesting an only slightly later date forthe Chiesetta. Cf. G.B. Lorenzi, Monu-menti per servire alla storia del PalazzoDucale di Venezia, Venezia 1868, doc. nos.956ff. et passim;

18. L. Cicognara, A. Diedo and G. Selva,Le fabbriche e i monumenti cospicui di Vene-zia, ed. F. Zanotto, Venezia 1858, I, textat pp. 67ff.; pls 18ff, esp. pl. 21. Cf. Idea,I, p. 320: “Nella Germania […] e beivederi, che essi chiamano Luoch, e piùpropriamente erker, i quali esconoalquanto infuori delle facciate…”, etc.

19. Cf. Idea, I, p. 306: “I luoghi da tenirStatue, e Rilievi, e Pitture, e quelli dastare à ricamare, e per ogn’altro esserci-tio, che ricerca lume fermo, & ordinato,e non molto alterabile, deono esser versoTramontana: perche (come dicessimo) àtutte le altre parti il Sole, ò percuote, òriflette à qualche hora del giorno; dimodo, che i lumi divengono molto varia-bili, e fanno diverse apparenze, & effettine’ rilievi, e nel distinguer bene i colori”.(Cf. II, ch. xiii = I, pp. 136-139).

20. Idea, II, p. 113. The planimetric com-plexity of Scamozzi’s altar is comparableto such other nearly contemporary altardesigns as the ‘Altare Dolfin’ (Venice,San Salvatore), which houses Campa-gna’s Madonna and Child with twoangels (W. Timofiewitsch, GirolamoCampagna, München 1972, cat. no. 9,between 1584-1595 ca.); cf. the projectdrawing for an Altar in the Sala of theScuola di San Rocco (ibid., fig. 181).Altar-tabernacle: cf. Idea, II, p. 168 (31-37): “Nel Genere de’ Nicchi sono anco iTabernacoli, e trà gl’uni, e gl’altri, vi èquesta differenza: perche i Tabernacolisono, ò cavi in cerchio, overo quadran-golari; e che siano ornati da ambe le particon Colonne, ò Pilastri, e loro ornamen-ti sopra, i quali escano alquanto in fuoridal diritto delle mura. Di tutte questeforme ne habbiamo degni essempi nellaRotonda; nelle Therme Antoniane, eDioclitiane dove furono molte statue:oltre a molti in altri edifici; come habbia-mo ordinato noi nel Statuario Pubblicodi San Marco; e di tutte queste specie nedisegniamo in varie forme ne’ Colonna-ti, & Archi ne gli Ordini passati”.

21. O. Demus, The Mosaics of San Marcoin Venice, Chicago-London, 1984, I, ii,pl. 1 (East dome), pl. 5 (Central dome).Cf. K. Lehman, The Dome of Heaven, in

“The Art Bulletin,” 27, 1945, pp. 1-27.Cf. also the Cappella Arcivescovile(Sant’Andrea Apostolo) in Ravenna, withthe inscription: “AVT LVX HIC NATAEST, AVT CAPTA HIC LIBERAREGNAT…” (G. Bovini, Storia e archi-tettura degli edifici paleocristiani di culto diRavenna, Bologna 1964, pp. 180-181).

22. The Chiesetta is not presently opento the public and access is limited. Timedid not permit inspecting the altar with atrained mineralogist; the identificationof the stones is only approximate. I amgrateful to Dr. Pastro for consenting torenewed visits.

23. Francesco Colonna, HypnerotomachiaPoliphili, ed. G. Pozzi and L. Ciapponi,Padova 1980, p. 192 (= fol. m 7r).

24. Portico di Gneo Ottavio: Idea; II, vii, ch.xxx, p. 279 (24).

25. ‘Nicchi’: Idea, II, vi, ch. xxxv, p. 168 (47).

26. Cf. note 14.

27. See esp. the ills. in: Accademia Etru-sca di Cortona, Pietro da Cortona architet-to, Conference Proceedings (Cortona,1969), Calosci-Cortona 1978, pl. VI(“interno”) and pl. VII (“veduta sottinsùdelle volte”); K. Noehles, La Chiesa deiSS. Luca e Martina nell’opera di Pietro daCortona, Roma 1969, pl. at p. 241, pl. 185at p. 244 et passim.

28. The entire architectural catalogue ofJacopo Sansovino has been recently con-sidered in M. Morresi’s Jacopo Sansovino,Milano 2000, with extensive citations ofthe relevant literature, to which the rea-der is referred (cf. my review in: “Apol-lo”, 154, 477, Nov. 2001, pp. 55-56).Similar aspects of Sansovino’s ornamentand decoration are treated in my: JacopoSansovino and the Engraved Memorials ofthe Cappella Badoer-Giustiniani in SanFrancesco della Vigna, in “MünchnerJahrbuch der bildenden Kunst”, 45,1994, pp. 133-164, and Camini del San-sovino, in “Annali di architettura”, 8,1996, pp. 93-114.

29. See Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, cit. [cf.note 28], pp. 114-117 (cf. 95-114).

30. Staircase entrance ‘serliana’: M. Tafuri,Jacopo Sansovino e l’architettura del ’500 aVenezia, Padova 1969, p. 84 (ill.); cf. Mor-resi, Jacopo Sansovino, cit. [cf. note 28], p.200, 13 (blind ‘serliana’ on first landing ofstaircase; also in F. Sapori, Jacopo Tattidetto il Sansovino, Roma 1928, pl. 95).

31. ‘Serliana contratta’ as window-portal:see G. Samonà, U. Franzoi, et al., PiazzaSan Marco, Padova 1970, p. 163: ill.; also:Sapori, Jacopo Tatti…, cit. [cf. note 30],pl. 95. Cf. Idea, II, vii, ch. iv, p. 187(ancient columns of coloured marbles re-used): “…le otto colonne della Loggettain Piazza di San Marco, et alcune altre, lequali adornano le scale, che ascendonoalla Libraria pubblica, e Museo, e procu-ratie fatte di nostra Architettura et ordi-ne”. Also notable is the large number ofSerlian windows included in Scamozzi’sproject drawings for the Salzburg Cathe-dral, 1607 (collection of the CanadianCenter for Architecture, Montreal, DR1970: 0002: 001).

32. Breiner, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit. [cf.note 1], II.3, pp. 117-132; G. Morolli,Vincenzo Scamozzi e la fabbrica della Procu-ratie Nuove, in G. Morolli et al., Le Pro-curatie nuove in Piazza San Marco, Roma1994, pp. 11-116; Franz, Vincenzo Sca-mozzi…, cit. [cf. note 1], pp. 41-49; M.Morresi, Piazza San Marco, Milano 1999,pp. 103f. et passim; Morresi, Jacopo Sanso-vino, cit. [cf. note 28], pp. 206-213. Cf.Idea, passim.

33. See, most recently, Morresi, PiazzaSan Marco, cit. [cf. note 32], p. 103, figs.104-105, where the inscriptions are legi-ble; cf. Uffizi 194 A (Tafuri, Venezia…,cit. [cf. note 1], fig. 128), and Louvre,Cabinet des Dessins, no. 5448 (ill. inFranz, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit. [cf. note1], p. 46).

34. Scamozzi’s ‘public’ criticism of Sanso-vino’s “fabbriche di piazza” is the otherface of his attentive and knowledgeableuse of Sansovino’s architectural inven-tions, a clear testimony that Scamozzirecognizes the value of Sansovino’s art.Scamozzi’s ambivalent, ‘public-private’,relation with Sansovino parallels his evenmore determinative relationship with Pal-ladio, as G.B. Gleria calls to my attention.

35. Bergamo: see, e.g., M.A. Mascolo,Vincenzo Scamozzi a Bergamo (1611), in“Bergomum”, 91, 2, 1996, pp. 61-98.

36. Palazzo Cornaro: Idea, I, iii, ch. vii, p. 246.

37. Palazzo Nonfinito: Idea, I, iii, ch. vii,pp. 247-249 (“1602”); A. Parronchi,Nota sul Palazzo Nonfinito, in Id., Operegiovanili di Michelangelo, III, Firenze1981, pp. 249-261, pls. 146-161, esp.155.; I. Bigazzi, Il Palazzo Nonfinito,Bologna 1971; M. Bucci, Palazzi diFirenze, Quartiere di Santa Croce, Firenze1971, pp. 81-84, pls. 54-59; F. Gurrieriand P. Fabbri, Palazzi di Firenze, Venezia1995, pp. 188-193; L. Ginori Lisci, Ipalazzi di Firenze nella storia e nell’arte,Firenze 1972, ad Indicem; A. Morrogh,Disegni di architteti fiorentini, 1540-1640,Firenze 1985, nos. 79-83.

38. Cantonale a pian terreno: Morresi,Jacopo Sansovino, cit. [cf. note 28], p. 194,fig. 7; al piano nobile: Id., Piazza SanMarco, cit. [cf. note 32], p. 71, pl. 64. Sca-mozzi’s re-cycling of the Sansovino’sgreat Ionic windows of the Libreria didnot remain without further echo in thearchitectural repertory of Venice; tomention only two examples: BaldassareLonghena in the principal façade ofSanta Maria della Salute, and the centre‘nicchione’ of the façade of the Chiesadegli Scalzi, by Giuseppe Sardi, near therailway station of Santa Lucia. Scamoz-zi’s imitation at the Palazzo Nonfinito ofthe Ionic windows of Sansovino’s Libre-ria inspired a further Florentine off-spring: see the large Serlian window ofthe Palazzo Pucci piano nobile in via de’Pucci, no. 4, designed by Paolo Falconie-ri (?), ca. 1698.

39. Statuario pubblico: I. Favaretto and G.L. Ravagan (eds.), Lo statuario pubblicodella Serenissima, Citadella (Padova)1997; Morresi, Jacopo Sansovino, cit. [cf.note 28], pp. 204-206. Cf. Idea, passim.

40. Teatro Olimpico: S. Mazzoni, L’Olim-

pico di Vicenza, Firenze 1998; morerecently, Franz, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit.[cf. note 1], pp. 60-64.

41. ‘Galleria’: W. Prinz, Galleria: storia etipologia di uno spazio archittonico, ed. C.Cieri Via, Modena 1988.

42. ‘Tribuna’: D. Heikamp, Zur Geschich-te des Uffizien - Tribuna und der Kunst-schränke in Florenz und Deutschland, in“Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte”, 26,1963, 193-268 (cf. “Antichità viva”, 3, 3,1964, pp. 11-30).

43. ‘Antiquarium’: Idea, I, p. 306 (22, 26-30). See also, e.g., M. Daly Davis, La gal-leria di sculture antiche di Cosimo I a Palaz-zo Pitti, in Le arti del principato mediceo,Firenze 1980, pp. 31-54; S. Eiche, On thelayout of the Cesi palace and gardens in theVatican Borgo, in “Mitteilungen des Kunsthi-storischen Institutes in Florenz”, 39,1995 (1996), pp. 258-281; E. Weski andH. Frosien-Leinz, Das Antiquarium derMünchner Residenz, München 1987; W.Liebenwein, Un “antiquarium” per laBiblioteca Laurenziana?, in “Rara volvmi-na”, 3, 2, 1996 (1997), pp. 17-33.

44. See M. Daly Davis, L’“Ercole dellaMula”: da Palazzo Maggiore a PalazzoPitti, in Boboli 90, Atti del Convegno diStudi per la salvaguardia e la valorizzionedel Giardino (Firenze 1989), Firenze1991, pp. 623-632 and figs. 206-207. Seealso: J. Muller, Rubens, Princeton 1989(cf. “The Art Bulletin”, 59, 1977, pp.576ff.).

45. Antonio Labacco, Libro d’AntonioLabacco appartenente a l’architettura, 1559,ed. A. Bruschi, Milan 1992, pp. 6, 9-10,11, 14, 17, 20, 23f., 27f.; Andrea Palladio,I quattro libri dell’architettura, ed. L.Magagnato, Milano 1980, II, e.g., pp.101, 105, 111, 113, 119, 135f., 138; III,e.g., pp. 220f., 230, 237; IV. e.g., 265,270f., 272, 278f., 280f., 286f., 288f.,292f., 299, 300ff., 307, 318, 345f., 362,366f., 381, 389f., 396.

46. See Ch. Davis, in Giorgio Vasari: prin-cipi, letterati e artisti nelle carte di GiorgioVasari, exhbn. cat. (Arezzo, 26 Septem-ber-29 November 1981), Arezzo 1981,pp. 91-94, no. IV, 30-34; cf. Lotz, in W.Lotz and L.H. Heydenreich, Architecturein Italy, 1400 to 1600, Harmondsworth1974, pp. 259, 261f.

47. A. Bristot and M. Piana, Il Palazzo deiGrimani a Santa Maria Formosa, in Fava-retto and Ravagan (eds.), Lo statuariopubblico…, cit. [cf. note 39], pp. 45-52;further: the recent entry in Morresi,Jacopo Sansovino, cit. [cf. note 28], cat. no.37, pp. 235-240 (bibl.); colour photos inW. Wolters, Architektur und Ornament,München 2000, p. 141, fig. 132.

48. Scamozzi and antiquity: D. Gioseffi,Palladio e Scamozzi: il recupero dell’illusioni-smo integrale del teatro vitruviano, in “Bol-lettino del Centro Internazionale di Studidi Architettura Andrea Palladio”, 16,1974, pp. 271-286; C. Jannaco, I “Discorsisopra l’antichità di Roma” di Vincenzo Sca-mozzi, in “Studi secenteschi”, 17, 1976,pp. 97-101; A. Fabbri, Vincenzo Scamozzi egli scrittori antichi, in “Studi secenteschi”,17, 1976, pp. 101-152; C. Vannini, Sca-mozzi postilla Vitruvio, in “Quaderni di

192

193

storia dell’architettura e restauro”, 4-5,1990-1991, pp. 79-81; M. Daly Davis,Vincenzo Scamozzi e gli studi antiquari, atSeminario Scamozzi, 1998 (forthcoming);G. Pigafetta and A. Mastrorilli, Il declinodella firmitas, Firenze 1999.

49. ‘Soggiorni romani’: Barbieri, VincenzoScamozzi, cit. [cf. note 1], “Regesto,” pp.123-125, 130, 136f., 157.

50. See Idea, I, pp. 47, 67 (“le migliori epiù lodate de’ moderni”), 321, 322, 326,337; etc.; cf. Barbieri, Vincenzo Scamozzi,cit. [cf. note 1], “Regesto”, passim.

51. Sant’Andrea in via Flaminia: M. Wal-cher Casotti, Il Vignola, I, Trieste 1960,pp. 64-66, 150-151, et passim, figs. 97-105; I. Lavin, Bernini and the Unity of theVisual Arts, New York-London, 1980,pp. 33-34, pls. 51-52; Franz, VincenzoScamozzi…, cit. [cf. note 1], pp. 36f.;Jacopo Barozzi da Vignola: la vita e le opere,exhbn. cat. (Vignola, 2002), Milano2002, ad Indicem.

52. Cf. also Vignola’s Cappella dellaMadonna della Strada (1588), church ofthe Gesù: Lavin, Bernini…, cit. [cf. note51], p. 33 and n. 42.

53. Franz, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit. [cf.note 1], p. 12; cf. Idea, I, i, ch. vi (48f.):“Et anco Giacomo Barozzi, e GiacomoSansovino (benche l’Opera sua non siaancora venuta in luce) e finalmenteAndrea Palladio…”, etc. Scamozzi’sreport of an architectural treatise compo-sed by Jacopo Sansovino has been univer-sally doubted, but it appears to find con-firmation in an unnoted mention of sucha treatise in Francesco Alunno (= France-sco Del Balio), Della Fabrica del Mondo[ed. pr. 1548, with 11 subsequent eds.],Venezia: “Appresso Iacopo Sansovino ilgiovane”, 1570, p. 113v (= 844), ad vocem‘Mensola’: “…DAN[te]. come per soste-ner solaio, o tetto Per mensola tal voltauna figura Si vede giunger le ginocchia alpetto. & vedrai parimente l’architetturadi M. Iacopo Sansovino che tosto verràfuori. Vedi Vitruvio”. The addition toAlunno’s text, clearly made by the Sanso-vino family, also appears in earlier edi-tions from Francesco Sansovino’s press.

54. Cf. Franz, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit.[cf. note 1], p. 36 et passim; also: L.Puppi, Sulle relazioni culturali di VincenzoScamozzi, in “Ateneo veneto,” 7, 1969,pp. 49-66.

55. Cf. Franz, Vincenzo Scamozzi…, cit.[cf. note 1], p. 36; ill. in Walcher Casot-ti, Il Vignola, cit. [cf. note 51], fig. 105.

56. Light in architecture: I do not know ageneral work treating light in architectu-re comparable to Wolfgang Schöne’sÜber das Licht in der Malerei, Berlin 1954(bibl., pp. 269-280). For architecturallighting and its history, with many cita-tions of further literature, see the fol-lowing works: Lichtarchitektur/The Archi-tecture of Light, intro. by W. Oechslin, in“Daidalos: Berlin Architectural Journal”,27, 15 Mars 1988, 136 pp.; L. Cremoni-ni, LUCE. luce naturale, luce artificiale,Firenze 1992 (bibl., pp. 217-218); A.Blühm and L. Lippincott, Light!, Lon-don 2000 (bibl., pp. 255-267); J. Brogan,Light in Architecture, London 1997. Also:

Enciclopedia Universale dell’Arte, ad Indi-cem; Dizionario Enciclopedico di Architettu-ra e Urbanistica, 3, ad vocem ‘Luce’; GroveDictionary of Art, ad vocem, ‘Lighting’(also ‘Light’), bibl.: 19, pp. 358, 368;Enciclopedia dello Spettacolo, 6, cols. 493-510. The history of light in architectureis inseparable from the two keywords,‘window’ and ‘lantern’, which can beused as search terms. J.S. Ackerman’s TheArchitecture of Michelangelo, London1961, etc., devotes systematic attentionto Michelangelo’s use of light; cf. A. Pra-ter, MAs Medici-Kapelle, 1979, pp. 123-125 (“Das Licht”). For the symbolism ofarchitectural light, see, e.g., P. Reuterswärd,Windows of Divine Light, in D. Rosand(ed.), Interpretazioni veneziane: studi distoria dell’arte in onore di MichelangeloMuraro, Venezia 1984, pp. 77-84. Seefurther: G. Satzinger, MichelangelosGrabmal Julius’ II. in S. Pietro in Vincoli,in “Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte”, 64,2001, pp. 206-209 et passim.

57. Light in Codussi: see L. Puppi and L. Oli-vato Puppi, Mauro Codussi, Venezia 1977.Sansovino: general observations in D.Howard, Architecture and Patronage in Renais-sance Venice, New Haven-London 1975.

58. Santa Bibiana, San Giovanni dei Fio-rentini, and the Cappella Raimondi: thethree projects are each treated in Lavin,Bernini…, cit. [cf. note 51] (see: ‘Con-tents’ and ‘General Index’), a work inpart anticipated by Rudolf Wittkower’sstudies of Bernini as sculptor and asarchitect. See also: C. Del Bravo, Sulsignificato della luce nel Caravaggio e nelBernini, in Id., Le risposte dell’arte, Firen-ze 1985, pp. 184ff.

59. K. Noehles, Architekturprojekte Corto-nas, in “Münchner Jahrbuch der bilden-den Kunst”, 20, 1969, pp. 171-206, esp.pp. 183ff.

60. Sant’Andrea al Quirinale: M. Morresi,Assimilazione e interpretazione barocca delPantheon: la chiesa e il pronao di S. Andreaal Quirinale, in “Rivista storica delLazio”, 4, 1996; Marcello and MaurizioFagiolo Dell’Arco, Bernini: una introdu-zione al gran teatro barocco, Roma 1967,pp. 61-64, pl. 87; F. Borsi, Bernini archi-tetto, Milano 1980, pp. 101ff.; Id., Lachiesa di S. Andrea al Quirinale, Roma1967, fig. 10 (plan, Archivio di Stato,Roma), fig. 16 (plan, Uffizi 3655A), p. 66(Muñoz), p. 71 (Brauer-Wittkower), pp.100f. (Wittkower); R. Wittkower, Artand Architecture in Italy, 1600 to 1750, 3rded., Harmondsworth 1973, p. 120. Forthe relevance of the columnar choirscreen of Palladio’s Redentore, seeLavin, Bernini…, cit. [cf. note 51], p. 64and pl. 111; pl. 201 shows the Cornarotomb in San Salvatore, Venice, with abright window in the centre of the tomb(cf. Davis, Jacopo Sansovino…, cit. [cf.note 28]); an additional Venetian ‘win-dow tomb’ is found on the western retro-façade of Santa Maria Formosa in Venice(Cappello). Cf. also the monument toBaldassarre Turini, Duomo, Pescia, byPierino da Vinci and others.

61. Cf. Idea, II, p. 273: “L’Architetto deeesser eccellente per dottrina, e moltoricco di nobili, e belle inventioni, e perlungo tempo esperimentato nel maneg-gio d’ogni genere d’edificio…”.

62. See note 8 supra; cf. Franz, VincenzoScamozzi…, cit. [cf. note 1], p. 10.

63. Alberti: Alberti counsels bright ligh-ting in temples, with highly placed win-dows (Leon Battista Alberti, On the Art ofBuilding, tr. J. Rykwert, R. Tavernor andN. Leach, Cambridge-London, 1987-88, pp. 223, 228, 229-230, etc.; cf. also‘openings’ and ‘windows’ ad Indicem).Light in drawings: cf., e.g., Giuliano daSangallo: Chr. Huelsen (ed.), Il libro diGiuliano da Sangallo, Codice Vaticano Bar-beriniano Latino 4424, Leipzig 1910, fol.8v: “Tempio di Sibila Chumana. VIIIlumi”, fol. 9r: “.VII. lumi”; fol. 15r: “B.14 e lochio”; fol. 43v: “lume”.

64. Uffizi 331 A: Baia, cupola with“lume” inscribed at its centre, cf. F.P.Fiore and M. Tafuri (eds.), Francesco diGiorgio architetto, Milano 1994, p. 366,no. XX.24.

65. Cod. Ashb. 1828 App.: M. Morresi,Francesco di Giorgio e Bramante, in Il dise-gno di architettura, Conference Procee-dings (Milano, 15-18 February 1988),eds. P. Carpeggiani and L. Patetta, Mila-no 1989, p. 119, fig 6 (“lume superficia-le”). I am grateful to Manuela Morresifor drawing to my attention the France-sco di Giorgio/Peruzzi nexus.

66. H. Wurm, Baldassarre Peruzzi. Archi-tekturzeichnungen, Tafelband, Tübingen1984, no. 233 and colour pl. 22; cf. alsonos. 7, 9, 10, 11, 213, 214, 224, 232, 233,344, 345, 357, 377, 363, 381 (“apertu-ra”), 385, 399, 405, etc. For the indeb-tedness of the Quinto libro temples toPeruzzi, see: A. Bruschi, Le chiese del Ser-lio, in Sebastiano Serlio, 6th InternationalColloquium on History of Architecture(Vicenza, 31 August-4 September 1987),Milano 1989, pp. 169-186 (seem to have“…non casuali precedenti già in parte nelTrattato di Francesco di Giorgio” andeven more in the “trattati abbozzati” ontemples of Leonardo and Peruzzi).