Italianate

Circa 1880-1893 in Aspen
The Italianate style was introduced by Andrew Jackson Downing in his 1850 publication, The Architecture of Country Houses. He extolled the virtues of the Gothic Revival, but also offered the “villa,” a version based on Italian country houses that veered more toward classicism and did not have the religious overtones of the Gothic Revival. Cornices with large brackets appeared on porches and bay windows. Flat, ornamental arches capped most windows and doors.

Characteristics:

  • rectangular, square, with a side-passage plan, or cross-gable
  • brick, wood clapboard and stucco
  • double-hung, narrow windows, often with round arch heads
  • window panes are either one-over-one or two-over-two
  • protruding sills
  • ornate treatment of the eaves, including the use of brackets, modillions and dentil courses
  • low-pitched, hipped roof
  • bay windows, often rectangular
  • quoins, or decorative blocks, at corners
  • metal cresting along roof ridges
  • transom over entry, often curved
  • ornate treatment of porch with turned columns, posts and bargeboard ornament
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