# Portico
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{{Short description|Type of porch}}
{{distinguish|Porticus|Portego}}
{{other uses}}
{{more citations needed|article|date=December 2007}}
[[File:Croome Court 2016 017.jpg|225px|thumb|The portico of [Croome Court](/source/Croome_Court) in [Croome D'Abitot](/source/Croome_D'Abitot) (England)]]
225px|thumb|Temple diagram with location of the pronaos highlighted
A '''portico''' is a [porch](/source/porch) leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a [colonnade](/source/colonnade), with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by [column](/source/column)s or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in [ancient Greece](/source/ancient_Greece) and has influenced many cultures, including most [Western cultures](/source/Western_world).
Porticos are sometimes topped with [pediments](/source/pediments).
[Palladio](/source/Palladio) was a pioneer of using temple-fronts for secular buildings. In the [UK](/source/UK), the temple-front applied to [The Vyne](/source/The_Vyne), Hampshire, was the first portico applied to an [English country house](/source/English_country_house).
A '''pronaos''' ({{IPAc-en|UK|p|r|oʊ|ˈ|n|eɪ|.|ɒ|s}} or {{IPAc-en|US|p|r|oʊ|ˈ|n|eɪ|.|ə|s}}) is the inner area of the portico of a [Greek](/source/Greek_temple) or [Roman temple](/source/Roman_temple), situated between the portico's colonnade or walls and the entrance to the ''[cella](/source/cella)'', or shrine. Roman temples commonly had an open pronaos, usually with only columns and no walls, and the pronaos could be as long as the ''cella''. The word ''pronaos'' ({{lang|grc|{{Script|Grek|πρόναος}}}}) is [Greek](/source/Greek_language) for "before a temple". In [Latin](/source/Latin), a pronaos is also referred to as an ''anticum'' or ''prodomus''. The pronaos of a Greek and Roman temple is typically topped with a pediment.
== Types ==
The different variants of porticos are named by the number of columns they have. The "style" suffix comes from the Greek {{lang|grc|{{script|Grek|στῦλος}}}}, "column".[{{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Decastyle |volume=7 |page=910}}] In Greek and Roman architecture, the pronaos of a temple is typically topped with a [pediment](/source/pediment).[{{Cite book |last=Gates |first=Charles |title=Ancient Cities: The Archaeology of Urban Life in the Ancient Near East and Egypt, Greece and Rome |date=2013 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |isbn=9781134676620 |location=New York |pages=209}}]
=== Tetrastyle ===
[[File:Temple of Portunus.jpg|thumb|[Temple of Portunus](/source/Temple_of_Portunus) in Rome, with its tetrastyle portico of four [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order) [columns](/source/columns)]]
The tetrastyle has four columns; it was commonly employed by the [Greeks](/source/Ancient_Greece) and the [Etruscans](/source/Etruscan_civilization) for small structures such as public buildings and [amphiprostyle](/source/amphiprostyle)s.
The [Romans](/source/Ancient_Rome) favoured the four columned portico for their [pseudoperipteral](/source/pseudoperipteral) temples like the [Temple of Portunus](/source/Temple_of_Portunus), and for amphiprostyle temples such as the [Temple of Venus and Roma](/source/Temple_of_Venus_and_Roma), and for the [prostyle](/source/prostyle) entrance porticos of large public buildings like the [Basilica of Maxentius and Constantine](/source/Basilica_of_Maxentius_and_Constantine). Roman provincial capitals also manifested tetrastyle construction, such as the [Capitoline Temple](/source/Capitoline_Temple) in [Volubilis](/source/Volubilis).
The North Portico of the [White House](/source/White_House) is perhaps the most notable four-columned portico in the United States.
=== Hexastyle ===
Hexastyle buildings had six columns and were the standard [façade](/source/fa%C3%A7ade) in canonical Greek [Doric](/source/Doric_order) architecture between the [archaic](/source/Archaic_Greece) period 600–550 BCE up to the [Age of Pericles](/source/Age_of_Pericles) 450–430 BCE.
==== Greek hexastyle ====
[[File:Temple of Concordia, Agrigento.jpg|thumb|The hexastyle [Temple of Concord at Agrigentum](/source/Temple_of_Concordia%2C_Agrigento) (''c.'' 430 BCE)]]
Some well-known examples of classical Doric hexastyle [Greek temple](/source/Greek_temple)s:
* [The group at Paestum](/source/Paestum) comprising the Temple of [Hera](/source/Hera) (''c.'' 550 BCE), the Temple of [Apollo](/source/Apollo) (''c.'' 450 BCE), the first Temple of [Athena](/source/Athena) ("Basilica") (''c.'' 500 BCE) and the second Temple of Hera (460–440 BCE)
* The [Temple of Aphaea](/source/Temple_of_Aphaea) at [Aegina](/source/Aegina) ''c.'' 495 BCE
* Temple E at [Selinus](/source/Selinus) (465–450 BCE) dedicated to Hera
* The [Temple of Zeus at Olympia](/source/Temple_of_Zeus%2C_Olympia), now a ruin
* Temple F or the so-called "[Temple of Concordia](/source/Temple_of_Concordia)" at [Agrigentum](/source/Agrigentum) (''c.'' 430 BCE), one of the best-preserved classical Greek temples, retaining almost all of its [peristyle](/source/peristyle) and [entablature](/source/entablature)
* The "unfinished temple" at [Segesta](/source/Segesta) (''c.'' 430 BCE)
* The [Temple of Hephaestus](/source/Temple_of_Hephaestus) below the [Acropolis](/source/Acropolis) at Athens, long known as the "Theseum" (449–444 BCE), also one of the most intact Greek temples surviving from antiquity
* The Temple of [Poseidon](/source/Poseidon) on Cape [Sunium](/source/Sunium) (''c.'' 449 BCE)[W. Burkert, ''Greek Religion'' (1987)]
Hexastyle was also applied to [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order) temples, such as the prostyle porch of the sanctuary of Athena on the [Erechtheum](/source/Erechtheum), at the [Acropolis of Athens](/source/Acropolis_of_Athens).
==== Roman hexastyle ====
With the colonization by the Greeks of [Southern Italy](/source/Southern_Italy), hexastyle was adopted by the [Etruscans](/source/Etruscan_civilization) and subsequently acquired by the [ancient Romans](/source/Ancient_Rome). Roman taste favoured narrow [pseudoperipteral](/source/pseudoperipteral) and [amphiprostyle](/source/amphiprostyle) buildings with tall columns, raised on [podium](/source/podium)s for the added pomp and grandeur conferred by considerable height. The [Maison Carrée](/source/Maison_Carr%C3%A9e) at [Nîmes](/source/N%C3%AEmes), [France](/source/France), is the best-preserved Roman hexastyle temple surviving from [antiquity](/source/Classical_antiquity).
=== Octastyle ===
[[File:The Parthenon (3472367103).jpg|thumb|The western side of the octastyle [Parthenon](/source/Parthenon) in Athens]]
Octastyle buildings had eight columns; they were considerably rarer than the hexastyle ones in the classical Greek architectural [canon](/source/Canon_(basic_principle)). The best-known octastyle buildings surviving from antiquity are the [Parthenon](/source/Parthenon) in [Athens](/source/Athens), built during the Age of Pericles (450–430 BCE), and the [Pantheon](/source/Pantheon%2C_Rome) in [Rome](/source/Rome) (125 CE). The destroyed [Temple of Divus Augustus](/source/Temple_of_Divus_Augustus) in Rome, the centre of the [Augustan](/source/Augustus) cult, is shown on Roman coins of the 2nd century CE as having been built in octastyle.
=== Decastyle ===
The decastyle has ten columns; as in the temple of [Apollo](/source/Apollo) Didymaeus at [Miletus](/source/Miletus), and the portico of [University College London](/source/University_College_London).[{{cite book |author=Sturgis, Russell |year=1901 |chapter=Decastyle |title=A Dictionary of Architecture and Building: Biographical, Historical and Descriptive |publisher=Macmillan |volume=1 |page=755 |isbn=978-0-7222-2967-5 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RdkjAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA755 }}]
== Gallery ==
Gizeh - Mastaba des Seschemnefer IV 2019-11-03a.jpg|[Ancient Egyptian](/source/Ancient_Egyptian_architecture) portico of the [Mastaba of Seshemnefer](/source/Mastaba_of_Seshemnefer) IV ([Giza pyramid complex](/source/Giza_pyramid_complex), Egypt)
Κνωσός 0624.jpg|[Minoan](/source/Minoan_civilization) portico of the [Knossos](/source/Knossos) Palace ([Crete](/source/Crete), Greece)
Athens Acropolis Temple of Athena 02.jpg|[Ancient Greek](/source/Ancient_Greek_architecture) portico with [Ionic](/source/Ionic_order) columns of the [Temple of Athena Nike](/source/Temple_of_Athena_Nike) ([Athens](/source/Athens), Greece)
File:Model of an Etruscan temple, it was constructed between 1889 and 1890 on the basis of the ruins found in Alatri, National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia, Rome (32614445355).jpg|[Etruscan](/source/Etruscan_architecture) portico of a temple model (now in [National Etruscan Museum](/source/National_Etruscan_Museum) of [Villa Giulia](/source/Villa_Giulia), Rome)
Maison Carree in Nimes (11).jpg|[Ancient Roman](/source/Ancient_Roman_architecture) portico of the [Maison Carrée](/source/Maison_Carr%C3%A9e) ([Nîmes](/source/N%C3%AEmes), France)
La Grande Mosquée de Kairouan 05.JPG|[Islamic](/source/Islamic_architecture) portico of the [Great Mosque of Kairouan](/source/Great_Mosque_of_Kairouan) ([Kairouan](/source/Kairouan), [Tunisia](/source/Tunisia))
1Temple 17 - Buddhist Monument - Sanchi Hill 2013-02-21 4493-2.jpg|[Indian](/source/Indian_architecture) portico of the Sanchi Temple 17 ([Sanchi](/source/Sanchi), India)
Forbiddencityviewpic13.jpg|[Chinese](/source/Chinese_architecture) portico of the [Forbidden City](/source/Forbidden_City) ([Beijing](/source/Beijing), China)
Claustro de Santo Domingo de Silos. Panda sur.jpg|[Romanesque](/source/Romanesque_architecture) portico of the [Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos](/source/Abbey_of_Santo_Domingo_de_Silos) ([Santo Domingo de Silos](/source/Santo_Domingo_de_Silos), Spain)
Chartres Cathedral North Porch NW 2007 08 31.jpg|[Gothic](/source/Gothic_architecture) portico of the [Chartres Cathedral](/source/Chartres_Cathedral) ([Chartres](/source/Chartres), France)
4, Strada Stavropoleos, Bucharest (Romania) 1.jpg|[Brâncovenesc](/source/Br%C3%A2ncovenesc_style) portico of the [Stavropoleos Church](/source/Stavropoleos_Monastery) ([Bucharest](/source/Bucharest), [Romania](/source/Romania))
07-Villa-Rotonda-Palladio.jpg|[Renaissance](/source/Renaissance_architecture) portico of the [Villa Capra "La Rotonda"](/source/Villa_Capra_%22La_Rotonda%22) ([Vicenza](/source/Vicenza), [Veneto](/source/Veneto), Italy)
P1040021 Paris Ier Palais du Louvre façade orientale rwk.JPG|[Baroque](/source/Baroque_architecture) porticos of the [Louvre Colonnade](/source/Louvre_Colonnade) (Paris)
File:Petit Trianon, théâtre de la Reine, entrée.jpg|[Louis XVI](/source/Louis_XVI_style) portico of the Théâtre de la reine, part of the [Petit Trianon](/source/Petit_Trianon) (France)
Paris Palais Légion-d'Honneur Cour 2014.jpg|[Neoclassical](/source/Neoclassical_architecture) portico of the {{Lang|fr|[Palais de la Légion d'Honneur](/source/Palais_de_la_L%C3%A9gion_d'Honneur)|italic=no}} (Paris)
File:Façade Palais Bourbon 3.jpg|[Empire style](/source/Empire_style) portico of the {{Lang|fr|[Palais Bourbon](/source/Palais_Bourbon)|italic=no}} (Paris)
29, Strada Matei Basarab, Bucharest (Romania).jpg|[Romanian Revival](/source/Romanian_Revival_architecture) portico of the Ștefan Lilovici House (Bucharest)
File:Bologna san luca-5.jpg|The Portico of San Luca in [Bologna](/source/Bologna), [Italy](/source/Italy), which is possibly the world's longest.[{{cite news|last=Caird|first=Joe|title=Bologna city guide: top five sights|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/citybreaks/4223609/Bologna-city-guide-top-five-sights.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/citybreaks/4223609/Bologna-city-guide-top-five-sights.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|access-date=1 June 2013|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=16 January 2009}}{{cbignore}}]
File:White House north and south sides.jpg|Elevations showing the north and south porticos of [The White House](/source/The_White_House)
== See also ==
{{div col}}
* {{Annotated link |Classical architecture}}
* {{Annotated link |Cloister}}
* {{Annotated link |Gatehouse}}
* {{Annotated link |Gate tower}}
* {{Annotated link |Hypostyle}}
* {{Annotated link |Loggia}}
* {{Annotated link |Outline of classical architecture}}
* {{Annotated link |Portal (architecture)}}
* {{Annotated link |Porte-cochère}}
* {{Annotated link |Stoa}}
* {{Annotated link |Veranda}}
{{div col end}}
== Citations ==
{{Reflist}}
== General and cited references ==
* {{cite encyclopedia |article=Greek architecture |title=[Encyclopædia Britannica](/source/Encyclop%C3%A6dia_Britannica) |year=1968 }}
* {{cite book |author=Stierlin, Henri |title=Greece: From Mycenae to the Parthenon |publisher=[Taschen](/source/Taschen) |year=2004 |editor=Angelika Taschen |editor-link=Angelika Taschen |place=Cologne |isbn=3-8228-1225-0 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/greecefrommycena0000stie }}
* {{cite book |author=Stierlin, Henri |title=The Roman Empire: From the Etruscans to the Decline of the Roman Empire |publisher=[Taschen](/source/Taschen) |year=2002 |editor=Silvia Kinkle |place=Cologne|isbn=3-8228-1778-3 }}
== External links ==
{{Wiktionary|portico}}
{{Room}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Ancient Roman architectural elements
Category:Architectural elements
Category:Columns and entablature
Category:Porticos
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Portico](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portico) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Portico?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.