Portico and pool Alhambra.jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by
column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...
s or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cultures, including most Western cultures. Some noteworthy examples of porticos are the East Portico of the United States Capitol, the portico adorning the
Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
in Rome and the portico of University College London. Porticos are sometimes topped with pediments.
Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...
was a pioneer of using temple-fronts for secular buildings. In the UK, the temple-front applied to
The Vyne The Vyne is a Grade I listed building, Grade I listed 16th-century country house in the parish of Sherborne St John, near Basingstoke, in Hampshire, England. The house was first built ''circa'' 1500-10 in the Tudor style by William Sandys, 1st ...
, Hampshire, was the first portico applied to an
English country house An English country house is a large house or mansion in the English countryside. Such houses were often owned by individuals who also owned a town house. This allowed them to spend time in the country and in the city—hence, for these peopl ...
. A pronaos ( or ) is the inner area of the portico of a Greek or Roman temple, situated between the portico's colonnade or walls and the entrance to the '' cella'', or shrine. Roman temples commonly had an open pronaos, usually with only columns and no walls, and the pronaos could be as long as the ''cella''. The word ''pronaos'' () is Greek for "before a temple". In Latin, a pronaos is also referred to as an ''anticum'' or ''prodomus''.


Types

The different variants of porticos are named by the number of columns they have. The "style" suffix comes from the Greek , "column".


Tetrastyle

The tetrastyle has four columns; it was commonly employed by the Greeks and the Etruscans for small structures such as public buildings and
amphiprostyle In classical architecture, amphiprostyle (from the Greek (''amphi''), on both sides, and (''prostylos''), a portico) denotes an ancient temple with a portico both at the front and the rear, where the columns on the narrow sides are not between a ...
s. The Romans favoured the four columned portico for their
pseudoperipteral A pseudoperipteros is a building with engaged columns embedded in the outer walls, except the front of the building. The form is found in classical architecture in ancient Greek temples, especially in the Hellenistic period. In Roman temples, th ...
temples like the
Temple of Portunus The Temple of Portunus ( it, Tempio di Portuno) or Temple of Fortuna Virilis ("manly fortune") is a Roman temple in Rome, Italy, one of the best preserved of all Roman temples. Its dedication remains unclear, as ancient sources mention several te ...
, and for amphiprostyle temples such as the Temple of Venus and Roma, and for the
prostyle Prostyle is an architectural term designating temples (especially Greek and Roman) featuring a row of columns on the front. The term is often used as an adjective when referring to the portico of a classical building, which projects from the m ...
entrance porticos of large public buildings like the
Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine The Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine ( it, Basilica di Massenzio), sometimes known as the Basilica Nova—meaning "new basilica"—or Basilica of Maxentius, is an ancient building in the Roman Forum, Rome, Italy. It was the largest building ...
. Roman provincial capitals also manifested tetrastyle construction, such as the
Capitoline Temple The Capitoline Temple is an ancient monument located in the old city of Volubilis in Fès-Meknès, Morocco. It dates from the Roman era, and was situated in the ancient Kingdom of Mauretania. The building incorporates a tetrastyle architectural de ...
in Volubilis. The North Portico of the White House is perhaps the most notable four-columned portico in the United States.


Hexastyle

Hexastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
buildings had six columns and were the standard façade in canonical Greek
Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...
architecture between the archaic period 600–550 BCE up to the Age of Pericles 450–430 BCE.


Greek hexastyle

Some well-known examples of classical Doric hexastyle Greek temples: * The group at Paestum comprising the Temple of
Hera In ancient Greek religion, Hera (; grc-gre, Ἥρα, Hḗrā; grc, Ἥρη, Hḗrē, label=none in Ionic and Homeric Greek) is the goddess of marriage, women and family, and the protector of women during childbirth. In Greek mythology, she ...
(''c.'' 550 BCE), the Temple of Apollo (''c.'' 450 BCE), the first Temple of Athena ("Basilica") (''c.'' 500 BCE) and the second Temple of Hera (460–440 BCE) * The Temple of Aphaea at Aegina ''c.'' 495 BCE * Temple E at Selinus (465–450 BCE) dedicated to Hera * The
Temple of Zeus at Olympia The Temple of Zeus at Olympia was an ancient Greek temple in Olympia, Greece, dedicated to the god Zeus. The temple, built in the second quarter of the fifth century BC, was the very model of the fully developed classical Greek temple of the Dor ...
, now a ruin * Temple F or the so-called " Temple of Concord" at Agrigentum (''c.'' 430 BCE), one of the best-preserved classical Greek temples, retaining almost all of its peristyle and
entablature An entablature (; nativization of Italian , from "in" and "table") is the superstructure of moldings and bands which lies horizontally above columns, resting on their capitals. Entablatures are major elements of classical architecture, and ...
* The "unfinished temple" at Segesta (''c.'' 430 BCE) * The Temple of Hephaestus below the
Acropolis An acropolis was the settlement of an upper part of an ancient Greek city, especially a citadel, and frequently a hill with precipitous sides, mainly chosen for purposes of defense. The term is typically used to refer to the Acropolis of Athens, ...
at Athens, long known as the "Theseum" (449–444 BCE), also one of the most intact Greek temples surviving from antiquity * The Temple of Poseidon on Cape Sunium (''c.'' 449 BCE) Hexastyle was also applied to Ionic temples, such as the prostyle porch of the sanctuary of Athena on the Erechtheum, at the Acropolis of Athens.


Roman hexastyle

With the colonization by the Greeks of
Southern Italy Southern Italy ( it, Sud Italia or ) also known as ''Meridione'' or ''Mezzogiorno'' (), is a macroregion of the Italian Republic consisting of its southern half. The term ''Mezzogiorno'' today refers to regions that are associated with the peop ...
, hexastyle was adopted by the Etruscans and subsequently acquired by the ancient Romans. Roman taste favoured narrow
pseudoperipteral A pseudoperipteros is a building with engaged columns embedded in the outer walls, except the front of the building. The form is found in classical architecture in ancient Greek temples, especially in the Hellenistic period. In Roman temples, th ...
and
amphiprostyle In classical architecture, amphiprostyle (from the Greek (''amphi''), on both sides, and (''prostylos''), a portico) denotes an ancient temple with a portico both at the front and the rear, where the columns on the narrow sides are not between a ...
buildings with tall columns, raised on podiums for the added pomp and grandeur conferred by considerable height. The Maison Carrée at
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
, France, is the best-preserved Roman hexastyle temple surviving from
antiquity Antiquity or Antiquities may refer to: Historical objects or periods Artifacts *Antiquities, objects or artifacts surviving from ancient cultures Eras Any period before the European Middle Ages (5th to 15th centuries) but still within the histo ...
.


Octastyle

Octastyle buildings had eight columns; they were considerably rarer than the
hexastyle A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
ones in the classical Greek architectural canon. The best-known octastyle buildings surviving from antiquity are the Parthenon in Athens, built during the Age of Pericles (450–430 BCE), and the
Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
in Rome (125 CE). The destroyed Temple of Divus Augustus in Rome, the centre of the Augustan cult, is shown on Roman coins of the 2nd century CE as having been built in octastyle.


Decastyle

The decastyle has ten columns; as in the temple of Apollo Didymaeus at
Miletus Miletus (; gr, Μῑ́λητος, Mī́lētos; Hittite transcription ''Millawanda'' or ''Milawata'' (exonyms); la, Mīlētus; tr, Milet) was an ancient Greek city on the western coast of Anatolia, near the mouth of the Maeander River in a ...
, and the portico of University College London. The only known Roman decastyle portico is on the Temple of Venus and Roma, built by Hadrian in about 130 CE.


Gallery

Gizeh - Mastaba des Seschemnefer IV 2019-11-03a.jpg, Ancient Egyptian portico of the
Mastaba of Seshemnefer The Mastaba of Seshemnefer IV is a mastaba tomb in Cemetery GIS of the Giza Necropolis in Egypt. It dates from the early Sixth dynasty of Egypt, Sixth Dynasty (c. 2340 BC), and was built for the official Seshemnefer IV (LG 53). Five reliefs from ...
IV (
Giza pyramid complex The Giza pyramid complex ( ar, مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the Giza Plateau in Greater Cairo, Egypt that includes the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Pyramid of Khafre, and the Pyramid of Men ...
, Egypt) Κνωσός 0624.jpg,
Minoan The Minoan civilization was a Bronze Age Aegean civilization on the island of Crete and other Aegean Islands, whose earliest beginnings were from 3500BC, with the complex urban civilization beginning around 2000BC, and then declining from 1450B ...
portico of the Knossos Palace ( Crete, Greece) Athens Acropolis Temple of Athena 02.jpg, Ancient Greek portico with Ionic columns of the Temple of Athena Nike ( Athens, Greece) File:Model of an Etruscan temple, it was constructed between 1889 and 1890 on the basis of the ruins found in Alatri, National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, Rome (32614445355).jpg,
Etruscan __NOTOC__ Etruscan may refer to: Ancient civilization *The Etruscan language, an extinct language in ancient Italy *Something derived from or related to the Etruscan civilization **Etruscan architecture **Etruscan art **Etruscan cities **Etruscan ...
portico of a temple model (now in
National Etruscan Museum The National Etruscan Museum ( it, Museo Nazionale Etrusco) is a museum of the Etruscan civilization, housed in the Villa Giulia in Rome, Italy. History The villa was built for Pope Julius III, for whom it was named. It remained in papal propert ...
of Villa Giulia, Rome) Maison Carree in Nimes (11).jpg,
Ancient Roman In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 BC ...
portico of the Maison Carrée (
Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...
, France) La Grande Mosquée de Kairouan 05.JPG,
Islamic Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God (or '' Allah'') as it was revealed to Muhammad, the mai ...
portico of the Great Mosque of Kairouan ( Kairouan, Tunisia) 1Temple 17 - Buddhist Monument - Sanchi Hill 2013-02-21 4493-2.jpg, Indian portico of the Sanchi Temple 17 ( Sanchi, India) Forbiddencityviewpic13.jpg,
Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of va ...
portico of the Forbidden City ( Beijing, China) Claustro de Santo Domingo de Silos. Panda sur.jpg, Romanesque portico of the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos (
Santo Domingo de Silos Santo Domingo de Silos is a municipality and town located in the province of Burgos, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality had a population of 292 inhabitants. The village is preserved by the heritage l ...
, Spain) Chartres Cathedral North Porch NW 2007 08 31.jpg,
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
portico of the Chartres Cathedral (
Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...
, France) 4, Strada Stavropoleos, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg, Brâncovenesc portico of the Stavropoleos Church ( Bucharest, Romania) 07-Villa-Rotonda-Palladio.jpg, Renaissance portico of the Villa Capra "La Rotonda" ( Vicenza, Veneto, Italy) P1040021 Paris Ier Palais du Louvre façade orientale rwk.JPG,
Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...
porticos of the
Louvre Colonnade The Louvre Colonnade is the easternmost façade of the Palais du Louvre in Paris. It has been celebrated as the foremost masterpiece of French Architectural Classicism since its construction, mostly between 1667 and 1674. The design, dominated by ...
(Paris) File:Petit Trianon, théâtre de la Reine, entrée.jpg, Louis XVI portico of the Théâtre de la reine, part of the Petit Trianon (France) Paris Palais Légion-d'Honneur Cour 2014.jpg, Neoclassical portico of the Palais de la Légion d'Honneur (Paris) 29, Strada Matei Basarab, Bucharest (Romania).jpg, Romanian Revival portico of the Ștefan Lilovici House (Bucharest) File:Bologna san luca-5.jpg, The Portico of San Luca in Bologna, Italy, which is possibly the world's longest.


See also

* * * * * * * * * * *


Notes


References

* * *


External links

{{Authority control Architectural elements Columns and entablature