Editing Classical order (section)

== Historical development ==
The [[Renaissance architecture|Renaissance]] period saw renewed interest in the literary sources of the ancient cultures of Greece and Rome, and the fertile development of a new architecture based on classical principles. The treatise {{lang|la|[[De architectura]]}} by Roman theoretician, architect and engineer [[Vitruvius]], is the only architectural writing that survived from Antiquity. Effectively rediscovered in the 15th century, [[De_architectura#Survival_and_rediscovery|Vitruvius came to be regarded]] as the ultimate authority on architecture. However, in his text the word ''order'' is not to be found. To describe the four species of columns (he only mentions: Tuscan, Doric, Ionic and Corinthian) he uses, in fact, various words such as: ''genus'' (gender), ''mos'' (habit, fashion, manner), ''opera'' (work).

[[File:Paris-St Gervais-104-2017-gje.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|The [[St-Gervais-et-St-Protais Church]] in Paris presents columns of the three orders: Doric at the ground floor, Ionic at the second floor, Corinthian at the third floor.]]
The term ''order'', as well as the idea of redefining the ''canon'' started circulating in Rome, at the beginning of the 16th century, probably during the studies of Vitruvius' text conducted and shared by [[Baldassare Peruzzi|Peruzzi]], [[Raphael]], and Sangallo.<ref>H. Burns and H. Gunthers, ''24éme Colloque International d'Etude Humanistes'', Tours 1981</ref>
Ever since, the definition of the ''canon'' has been a collective endeavor that involved several generations of European architects, from Renaissance and Baroque periods, basing their theories both on the study of Vitruvius' writings and the observation of Roman ruins (the Greek ruins became available only after Greek Independence, 1821–1823). What was added were rules for the use of the Architectural Orders, and the exact proportions of them in minute detail. Commentary on the appropriateness of the orders for temples devoted to particular deities (Vitruvius I.2.5) were elaborated by Renaissance theorists, with Doric characterized as bold and manly, Ionic as matronly, and Corinthian as maidenly.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Small |first=Julian |title=Classical Orders |url=http://sites.scran.ac.uk/ada/documents/general/orders/classical_orders.htm |access-date=2023-08-12 |website=sites.scran.ac.uk}}</ref>
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