ere usually inlaid with woods of light
shade, and the soft, golden tone given by the process was in beautiful,
but not too strong, contrast with the marble architrave of the doorway,
which in the fifteenth century was carved in low relief combined with
disks of colored marble, sliced, by the way, from Roman temple pillars.
Later as the classic taste became stronger the carving gave place to a
plain architrave and the over-door took the form of a pediment.

Mantels were of marble, large, beautifully carved, with the fireplace
sunk into the thickness of the wall. The overmantel usually had a carved
panel, but later, during the sixteenth century, this was sometimes
replaced by a picture. The windows of the Renaissance were a part of the
decoration of the room, and curtains were not used in our modern
manner, but served only to keep out the draughts. In those days the
better the house the simpler the curtains. There were many kinds of
ceilings used, marble, carved wood, stucco, and painting. They were
elaborate and beautiful, and always gave the impression of being
perfectly supported on the well-proportioned cornice and walls. The
floors were usually of marble. Many of the houses kept to the plan of
mediaeval exteriors, great expanses of plain walls with few openings on
the outsides, but as they were built around open courts, the interiors
with their colonnades and open spaces showed the change the Renaissance
had brought. The Riccardi Palace in Florence and the Palazzo della
Cancelleria in Rome, are examples of this early type. The second phase
was represented by the great Bramante, whose theory of restraining
decoration and emphasizing the structure of the building has had such
important influence. One of his successors was Andrea Palladio, whose
work made such a deep impression on Inigo Jones. The Library of St.
Mark's at Venice is a beautiful example of this part. The third phase
was entirely dominated by Michelangelo.

The furniture, to be in keeping with buildings of this kind, was large
and richly carved. Chairs, seats, chests, cabinets, tables, and beds,
were the chief pieces used, but they were not plentiful at all in our
sense of the word. The chairs and benches had cushions to soften the
hard wooden seats. The stuffs of the time were most beautiful Genoese
velvet, cloth of gold, tapestries, and wonderful embroideries, all
lending their color to the gorgeous picture. The carved marriage chest,
or cassone, is one