Page:Vasari - Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, volume 5.djvu/220

208 to remark that on the opposite or left hand are the same number of rooms of a similar size. Within the five angles of the Pentagon, Vignola has constructed a circular court into which there come the external doors of all the apartments in the building, and these doors all open into a circular Loggia or Gallery eighteen palms broad. This Loggia passes around the Court, the diameter whereof is ninety-five palms five inches. The pilasters of the Loggia, between which are niches, and which support the arches and vaulting, occupy fifteen palms for each couple with its central niche; and the space between the arches is also of fifteen palms. From this Loggia the ascent is by four spiral staircases, reaching from the foundation of the building to its summit, to the great convenience of the Palace. There are also reservoirs for collecting the rain water, and in the centre is a very large and handsome cistern, to say nothing of the windows, and other conveniences which make this building appear, as it is, a most beautiful and commodious edifice. The villa, which is approached by steps of an oval shape, holds the position, and has the form of a Fortress; it is surrounded by a ditch and draw-bridges of original invention and new form, these lead into gardens enriched with many beautiful fountains, mingled with shrubberies and parterres of most pleasing effect, and adorned, at a word, with all that could be demanded by a truly regal Palace.

We now ascend the great winding staircase from the court to the apartments above it, and here we find rooms of equal number with those below; there is also a chapel which stands opposite to the principal staircase. In the Hall, which is over that of Jupiter and of the same size, are rich ornaments in stucco by the hand of Taddeo and his disciples, with paintings by the same, all relating to the illustrious men of the House of Farnese. The ceiling is divided into six compartments, which enclose paintings, four of a square and two of a round form, these are in immediate contact with the cornice which surrounds the Hall, and in the centre of them are three oval pictures with a parallelogram divided into two small squares, in one of which is depicted the figure of Fame, in the other that of Bellona. In the first of the three ovals, meanwhile, there is the figure of Peace; that in the centre exhibits the ancient Arms of the House of Farnese, with the Casque, which is surmounted by a