Sebastiano Serlio, Libro estraordinario and renaissance and manneristic portals in Prague

Sebastiano Serlio is one of the most notable theoreticians of Renaissance architecture. He is sometimes also referred to as the first theoretician of Mannerism in architecture. The present thesis is first concerned with Serlio's predecessor, the ancient theoretician of architecture Vitruvius. It points out Vitruvius' key thoughts, especially the ones which most potently influenced the work of Sebastiano Serlio. The thesis further relates to Serlio's life and the important moments of his life either during his stay in his homeland, Italy, or later in France. The greatest feat of Serlio in the domain of architecture is his theoretical work: a tractate on architecture published successively in volumes. Serlio's contribution lies chiefly in the formulation of the five orders of architecture and also in his capability of captivating the reader, the use of a language level familiar to a wide audience, and the clarity of the information given. Such literary qualities are also characteristic of the "Libro estraordinario" (the"Extraordinary Book", or the "Outstanding Book") which is of particular attention in the present thesis. "Libro estraordinario" is solely devoted to a single architectonic element: the portal. It consists of two parts: "Porte rustiche" and "Porte dilicate". Each portal type is provided with a..