Portico

As a portico ( or more correctly the the portico ) is in architecture refers to a portico or a colonnade with straight beams. While in the field of ancient Roman architecture called colonnades of any length (ie, linear components ) are described, portico called in modern architecture especially designed as a portico porch as selective component.

Porticoes in ancient architecture

The Latin term porticus ( in Latin female / feminine ) originally encompasses the meanings of " aisle ", "Arcade " and " hall ". In the language of classical archeology colonnades are referred to with a straight entablature as a portico. Make architectural history a takeover of the Greek Stoa in Roman architecture dar. porticoes are mostly single-aisled colonnades of any length, the lean with the back of a building or a wall and open at the front with a row of columns ( colonnade ). To top it usually close off with a shallow pitch roof, which is based on the building behind it. Porticoes were also performed mehrschiffig and several floors.

The portico united diverse functions. As a weather-protected walkway could public spaces or streets are lined and was used with appropriate depth for commercial purposes. Also in the area of ​​high end villa architecture porticos were an important part, here they created transitions between the interiors and garden areas and served as shaded walkways. A fully surrounded by porticoes courtyard is called peristyle. This was also a characteristic component of the spread in the provinces of Gaul and Germania type of construction of the villa rustica, the so-called " portico villa".

A special form of the ancient portico is the cryptoporticus (Latin cryptoporticus "hidden portico "), a wholly or partly situated underground vaulted passageway.

Two-aisled portico of the Mysteries in Pompeii Villa

Portico in the architecture of modern times

In the architecture of the Renaissance, Baroque and Classicism originally reserved for religious buildings porticoes are transferred to the secular architecture. The term ' portico ' is now more narrowly defined and refers to a one - or mehrschiffige, rare pillared porch of pillars, which is upstream of the main façade of a building; one speaks with a corresponding depth in German by a colonnade. Neuzeitliche porticoes are open, sometimes doppelgeschossig rule on three sides and are usually completed by a triangular pediment. They generally refer to ancient Greek-Roman temple fronts.

An early, architecture historically influential example of porticoes of this type is found in the so-called Villa Rotonda by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio, which emerged at the end of the 16th century.

St Paul 's Cathedral, London ( 1705 )

Grand Théâtre, Bordeaux (1773-1780)

The White House, Washington, D.C. (1792-1800)

Neue Wache, Berlin (1816-1818)

Capitol, Washington (19th century)

British Museum, London ( 1845 )

Reichstag, Berlin (1884-1894)

Porticos of Romanesque churches in Spain

Among the Romanesque churches of Old Castile ( provinces of Burgos, Soria and Segovia), there are about 80 churches with Südvorhallen, which are mostly in Spanish with the term portico (sometimes with galería Porticada ) denotes ( see Web catalog ). About the function of these porticoes can ultimately only be speculated - small cloister or colonnade, Court Hall, weather protection, meeting place in processions, etc. They were probably largely functionless and can thus be understood in the main only as a representative and majestic full-scale input range to the actual church.. A few of these porticos also enclose parts of the west side of the church buildings. Apart from the portico of the Mozarabic church of San Miguel de Escalada ( 913 ) applies the portico of the church of San Miguel in San Esteban de Gormaz in the present province of Soria ( 1100 ) as the oldest surviving example of its kind in the Iberian Peninsula.

Church of San Miguel in San Esteban de Gormaz, Soria ( 1100 )

Church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción in Jaramillo de la Fuente, province of Burgos (12th century)

Church of Santa Cecilia in Barriosuso, Burgos (12th century)

Church of San Miguel Arcangel in Sotosalbos, province of Segovia (12th century)

Porticos on the north Indian temples

Even the first ( received ) free-standing temple of northern India from the period around 400 AD (see Gupta Temple ) had a supported by stone pillars porch ( mandapa ) after the Roman model. Some of these porches were probably made ​​of wood, which has not retained. The mandapas became more and more integrated over time in the temple, so that the typical image of a classic North Indian temple was built. The mandapas probably served originally primarily the weather protection (sun, monsoon ), because the believing Hindus from entering the actual sanctum ( garbhagriha ) was prohibited. It was only in later times were also other functions (Music and dance hall, meeting hall, etc. ) are added. For some early, but especially in the later temples there is a close connection between the architectural porch ( mandapa ) and sanctum enclosing the conversion gear ( pradakshinapatha ).

Kankali Devi Temple in Tigawa, Madhya Pradesh, India ( 400 )

Durga temple in Aihole, Karnataka, India ( 7th century)

Kandariya Mahadeva Temple at Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh ( 1125 )

Pattabhirama Temple in Hampi, Karnataka ( 1450 )