rman
western apse and the apsidal ends to the transept do not occur. The
spaces between the piers of the main arcade are greater than in French
or English examples, so that there are fewer piers, and the vaults are
of wider span. In the churches founded by the great preaching orders,
the division into nave and aisle does not take place, and the church
consists of nothing but a large hall for the congregation, with a
chancel for the choir.

In monastic, secular, and domestic building a general squareness and
simplicity of plan prevails, and where an internal arcaded quadrangle
can be made use of (_e.g._ in the cloister of a monastery), it is
almost always relied upon to add effect. The famous external arcade at
the Ducal Palace, Venice, was nowhere repeated, though simpler
external arcades occur frequently; but it is so splendid as to form,
itself alone a feature in Italian planning.

The arrangements of the mansions and palaces found in the great cities
were a good deal influenced by the circumstance that it was customary,
in order to secure as much cool air as possible, to devote one of the
upper floors to the purpose of a suite of reception rooms; to this was
given the name of _piano nobile_.

_Walls, Towers, Columns._

Walls are usually thick and stand unbuttressed, and rarely have such
slopes and diminutions of apparent thickness towards their upper part
as are not uncommon in England. Base mouldings are not universal. The
cornice, on the other hand, is far more cared for, and is made much
more conspicuous than with us. In the brick buildings especially it
attains great development. Above the cornice a kind of ornamental
parapet, bearing some resemblance to battlements, is common. The
strikingly peculiar use of materials of different colours in alternate
courses, or in panels, to decorate the wall surfaces, has already been
referred to. It is very characteristic of the style.

The campanile or bell-tower of an Italian church is a feature very
different from western towers. It is never placed over the crossing of
nave and aisles and rarely forms an essential part of the church,
often being quite detached and not seldom placed at an angle with the
walls of the main building. Such towers are not unfrequently appended
to palaces, and are sometimes (_e.g._ at Venice) erected alone. Some
of the Italian cities were also remarkable for strong towers erected
in the city itself as fortresses by the heads of influentia