ON THE TUSCAN ORDER, AND ITS ORNAMENTS: CHAPTER V

It is found in the writings of Vitruvius Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, the Roman author of 'De Architectura,' whose work was the foundation for Renaissance building theory. in Book 4, Chapter 7, that the Tuscan column should be seven parts high, including its base and capital, taking this measure from its thickness at the bottom. The height of the base should be half the diameteroriginal: "groſſezza"; the text says "half the column," but contextually refers to the thickness or diameter of the shaft. of the column; and divided into two parts, one shall be for the plinthoriginal: "zocco"; the square or circular block forming the lowest part of the base., and the other part shall be divided into thirds, where two parts are given to the torusoriginal: "baſtone"; a large, rounded molding. and the remaining part shall be for the filletoriginal: "cinta"; a small, flat band.. Its projectionoriginal: "ſporto"; how far the molding extends outward from the shaft. shall be determined in this way: first, let a circle be made as large as the column is thick at the bottom, and place that within a square; then, draw a circle outside the square passing through its four corners, and this shall be its projection. And because all other bases have square plinths, nonetheless this Tuscan one must be round according to the text of Vitruvius.

The height of the capital should be the same as the base. If this capital is divided into three parts, one shall be the abacusoriginal: "abaco"; the flat slab at the very top of a capital.. The second part shall be divided into four, and three of these shall be given to the echinusoriginal: "Vuouolo"; the rounded, cushion-like molding. while the other shall be its listel. The remaining third part shall be for the neckingoriginal: "fregio"; literally 'frieze,' but here referring to the neck of the capital.. The astragaloriginal: "tondino"; a small bead-like molding. with its collarinooriginal: "collarino"; a small ring or necking band. should be half the height of the necking; if this is divided into three parts, two shall be for the astragal and the other for the collarino. Its projection should be as much as its height; and although it is joined with the capital, it is nonetheless a member of the column shaft.

The upper part of this column must be diminishedoriginal: "minuita"; the tapering of the column as it rises. by a fourth part, so that the capital at the top will not be larger than the column at its base. The method for tapering the column shall be this: let the trunk of the column be divided into three parts, and the bottom third shall be perpendicular—that is, plumb. The remaining two-thirds shall be divided into as many equal parts as one desires. Then, at the one-third mark of the column, draw a semicircle. From the lines that hang from the outer edges of the capital, draw inward by one-eighth on each side, which totals one-fourth of the width. Below the collarino, one will draw two plumb lines falling onto the semicircle. That part of the circle remaining between this line and the outer edge of the column shall be divided into as many equal parts as those in the upper two-thirds of the column. Once this is done on both the right and left sides, let horizontal lines be drawn across from the two sides of the semicircle; each line should be numbered in order as they go down. Similarly, number the lines dividing the column in the same order. It is certain that the first line of the circle will align with the line below the collarino; then the second line of the circle is transferred to the second line of the column, the third line of the circle to the third line of the column, and the fourth line of the circle to the fourth line of the column. Once this is finished, a line is drawn from the base of the semicircle to the fourth line, from the fourth to the third, from the third to the second, and from the second to the first, doing so on both sides of the column. Even though these lines are straight in themselves, they nonetheless create a curved line, which the diligent craftsman then moderates by hand to smooth all the angles where the lines meet. Although this rule is made for the Tuscan column which is diminished by a fourth part, it can nonetheless serve every kind of column; the greater the number of parts used for the column and the semicircle, the more accurate the tapering will be.