Christoph Dientzenhofer (1655-1722) and Kilian Ignaz Dientzenhofer (1689-1751): Loreta, Prague

Arrival at Loreto: Piazza della Madonna

Three Civic Arcades

The three sketches demonstrate the increasing elaboration of public arcades from the early renaissance to the baroque periods. The mercantile loggia in Piazza della Loggia, Brescia (top) contains a simple commercial and residential arrangement behind the new classical architecture. The arcades of Piazza della Madonna, Loreto (centre) provide an incomplete frame for the major pilgrimage centre, with two stories of arcades. In Piazza Palazzo di Citta, Turin (bottom) an alternating rhythm and an exaggerated proportion maintain the hybrid combination on a site which dates back to the Roman city.