Have you ever thought that some older buildings seem to be oddly proportioned — perhaps a bit top-heavy? Often there is nothing wrong with their proportions; the problem may instead be with our modern perception of what a building’s exterior should look like (and how its interior should function). While today the most important rooms of a modern house are typically near grade level, at various times in the past (and increasingly in the present) these same spaces were elevated well above grade.
The piano nobile (“noble floor” in Italian) is the principal floor of a substantial house. It is typically located on what Americans refer to as the second or third floor (the ground floor was reserved for more utilitarian, service-oriented, purposes and not entertaining). The practice of elevating the principal living areas began during the Italian Renaissance — and was thereafter employed by architects everywhere with a penchant for Classical Renaissance architecture.
The concept impacted exteriors in a tangible way; the piano nobile, with its higher ceilings and taller windows, is evident from the exterior and easily distinguished from the ground floor which reads as a base with its smaller windows and sometimes coarser finish.
Why did the affluent build in this way? While the exteriors of such houses are very attractive (and were meant to impress), the real reason was far more practical: elevating the most important and refined spaces above the street level offered these rooms better views, some isolation from the numerous distractions of the street and, no doubt, better security. The original concept, frequently incorporating a central courtyard, made much more sense in the Mediterranean climate where it originated but that has not diminished its subsequent popularity elsewhere.
As with many other architectural concepts, this one eventually migrated to America. More commonly found in large, older, cities in the South and on either coast, examples do appear in more obscure places. By the mid-nineteenth century, however, the concept was sometimes more implied on the exterior of modest houses than actually realized in functional interior hierarchy. Exteriors such as these were often merely a form of pretense (much like nailing boards onto a house and calling it “half timbered” or “Tudor”). The well-to-do, however, continued to embrace the concept fully well into the 20th century. First we’ll look at some European examples before getting to American interpretations.
Palazzo Rucellai, Florence, Italy, c. 1450. Like many early examples, this façade is comprised of three tiers which emphasize horizontality. The piano nobile is the center tier.
Palazzo Loredan Dell’Ambasciatore, Venice, Italy. A 15th century example with a Gothic façade. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Ca’ Rezzonico, Venice, Italy, 18th century. A landmark structure of baroque and rococo design. Note the oval windows below the cornice; this detail would later be emulated in many mid-19th century American houses built in the then-fashionable Italianate style. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Stowe House, Buckinghamshire, England, 17th and 18th centuries. South façade. This landmark Neoclassical design uses external stairs to connect directly to the piano nobile rather than requiring passage through the lower level — a feature found in many Italian and English examples. Photo Credit: Tony Messenger
Now let’s see how this concept has been applied in some American structures…
Decatur House, Washington, D.C., c. 1818. The tallest windows clearly indicate the piano nobile of this Federal style townhouse. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Row houses, Baltimore, Maryland. Early 19th century examples with tripartite windows. These houses are quite modest for the genre. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Boonville, Missouri, c. 1844. This Greek Revival house may have originally had an exterior staircase leading up to the porch of the piano nobile. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Tiffany-Fisher house, Baltimore, Maryland, c. 1842. The piano nobile of this handsome Greek Revival overlooks one of four small parks flanking Baltimore’s Washington Monument. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Patterson House, 15 Dupont Circle, Washington, D.C., 1901-1903. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Embassy of Mexico (MacVeagh House), Washington, D.C., 1911. Many substantial Washington houses such as this one built in the Italian Renaissance Revival style are today utilized as embassies. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Townhouses, Houston, Texas, 2011. Because the concept behind the piano nobile plan is practical in many ways, it is no surprise that it is making a comeback — particularly in the construction of townhouses. Here it allows for garages on narrow city lots. Photo source: zillow.com
The last examples appear to be merely pretentious in that they emulate the look on the exterior but fail to follow through in actual interior hierarchy:
Delphi, Indiana, c. 1860. In this Italianate example, despite the emphasis of the upper level with its tall, arched, windows, the formal rooms are on the lower level; the look is purely superficial. The porch appears to be a c. 1880 update. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Row house, Jim Thorpe, Pennsylvania, c. 1848. While the window openings of the second floor are taller, it is doubtful that this level ever served as the main floor. The taller windows are likely a later an Italianate “update” as adjacent houses (built at the same time) have shorter window openings on the second floor. Photo source: zillow via oldhousedreams.com
Nice post…. It does not surprise me in any way that those with means would elevate the formal rooms above the ground floor. This served a multitude of purposes, but I think it mostly served to separate (and elevate) the upper classes from the commoners. Life at street level wasn’t very nice, from the filth of manure, garbage, even human waste. The less the upper classes had to interact with reality, the better for them.
One of the things I love most about living in Philly are the way everybody’s living room is directly on the sidewalk. I love how connected we are to our neighborhood just outside our window. That said, our house is about two feet above the sidewalk, fancier rowhouses are four to six feet above the sidewalk, and the smallest houses built for the common worker are only about a foot above the sidewalk. So even though it is a much smaller variation, the nicer houses are still elevated.
Now they are building new rowhouses with a front door to the sidewalk, and instead of a rear yard, they have a garage in the rear located on the ground floor. This puts their main living space on the second floor which separates them from the street. The new rowhouses are lovely but those blocks are all but dead when you go down them as there is no connection to the people who live there. This development (http://southwarkonreed.com) not far from our home was just finished last year and is a prime example of new construction in Philly. One sad note is that the developer had to call them townhomes because the term ‘rowhouse’ has a negative connotation of being old and out of fashion.
Those are good observations; the frequently rusticated bases of many Renaissance palazzos typically had lots of wall surface punctuated occasionally by very small windows; they have a kind of fortress-like feel. Very effective if your goal was to distance yourself from the commoners!
The disconnect from the street in some new construction is disappointing, but the same feeling of deadness can be found on many conventional suburban streets also; everyone is inside watching TV or connected to a device. Also, kids don’t run around and play outside as much as they once did… and how many people really know their neighbors well these days? Elevating the living spaces certainly doesn’t help to promote a lively street! Marketing has always been kind of strange, sometimes misleading, and is very influential. If row houses are marketed as “townhomes” then that is what people will start calling them. I remember them being marketed as that in the D.C. metro as a teenager… in the 70’s! I would think by now that it would be safe to call row houses “row houses” again, but I guess it isn’t.
Very interesting concept! I had not heard of it before, so thanks for enlightening us.
It appears this concept evolved over time, as our Italian Renaissance Revival (circa 1926) has tall, arched windows and a very promenent arched door with arched sidelight windows encircling it, all on the first floor. The second floor has much shorter rectangular windows, but with shutters and a decorative Juliet balcony in the center. It gives both floors a distinct emphasis, but seems to focus on the first level. I also believe the original landscaping featured a ~2′ tall berm against the front, giving the appearance of the first floor being even closer to ground level. Don’t mind the terrible overgrown foliage in the 2015 street view. The previous residents were not ones for yard work! I’ve cleaned it all up, but am considering taking out the stacked limestone terraces and going back to a berm. Any ideas on how it may have originally been landscaped? It’s so hard to find ideas for Italian Renaissance landscaping that work in the Midwest!
Hmmm. I don’t know much about landscaping… especially for a context as specific as yours! I would guess that something symmetrical and highly manicured would be a good start; that concept will work with even with plants suited to the Midwest!
I remember the house in Omaha very well; the panels which flank the attic windows actually green marble! According to the book, Omaha City Architecture, It was designed by Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball who designed numerous important buildings in Nebraska. The house was built in 1901 for F. P. Kirkendall who owned the Kirkendall Boot Company. It’s a handsome example of Italian Renaissance Revival!
It may be of interest, the Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier also makes use of this concept: the service rooms and drive-in garage are on the ground floor, while the second floor has all the living areas elevated to offer best views of the ground surrounding. Some concepts transcend style!
The Villa Savoye is an excellent 20th century example! And, yes, this concept does indeed transcend style. Though the concept remains the same, the French have their own word for it: bel étage which roughly means “beautiful upstairs”. Thanks for thinking of this!
You’re right; it does! I’d never thought of that before… Wright’s massing and horizontal emphasis makes the house visually distinct from more traditional examples of the concept, but it is an example just the same. Good catch!
Nice post…. It does not surprise me in any way that those with means would elevate the formal rooms above the ground floor. This served a multitude of purposes, but I think it mostly served to separate (and elevate) the upper classes from the commoners. Life at street level wasn’t very nice, from the filth of manure, garbage, even human waste. The less the upper classes had to interact with reality, the better for them.
One of the things I love most about living in Philly are the way everybody’s living room is directly on the sidewalk. I love how connected we are to our neighborhood just outside our window. That said, our house is about two feet above the sidewalk, fancier rowhouses are four to six feet above the sidewalk, and the smallest houses built for the common worker are only about a foot above the sidewalk. So even though it is a much smaller variation, the nicer houses are still elevated.
Now they are building new rowhouses with a front door to the sidewalk, and instead of a rear yard, they have a garage in the rear located on the ground floor. This puts their main living space on the second floor which separates them from the street. The new rowhouses are lovely but those blocks are all but dead when you go down them as there is no connection to the people who live there. This development (http://southwarkonreed.com) not far from our home was just finished last year and is a prime example of new construction in Philly. One sad note is that the developer had to call them townhomes because the term ‘rowhouse’ has a negative connotation of being old and out of fashion.
Those are good observations; the frequently rusticated bases of many Renaissance palazzos typically had lots of wall surface punctuated occasionally by very small windows; they have a kind of fortress-like feel. Very effective if your goal was to distance yourself from the commoners!
The disconnect from the street in some new construction is disappointing, but the same feeling of deadness can be found on many conventional suburban streets also; everyone is inside watching TV or connected to a device. Also, kids don’t run around and play outside as much as they once did… and how many people really know their neighbors well these days? Elevating the living spaces certainly doesn’t help to promote a lively street! Marketing has always been kind of strange, sometimes misleading, and is very influential. If row houses are marketed as “townhomes” then that is what people will start calling them. I remember them being marketed as that in the D.C. metro as a teenager… in the 70’s! I would think by now that it would be safe to call row houses “row houses” again, but I guess it isn’t.
Very interesting concept! I had not heard of it before, so thanks for enlightening us.
It appears this concept evolved over time, as our Italian Renaissance Revival (circa 1926) has tall, arched windows and a very promenent arched door with arched sidelight windows encircling it, all on the first floor. The second floor has much shorter rectangular windows, but with shutters and a decorative Juliet balcony in the center. It gives both floors a distinct emphasis, but seems to focus on the first level. I also believe the original landscaping featured a ~2′ tall berm against the front, giving the appearance of the first floor being even closer to ground level. Don’t mind the terrible overgrown foliage in the 2015 street view. The previous residents were not ones for yard work! I’ve cleaned it all up, but am considering taking out the stacked limestone terraces and going back to a berm. Any ideas on how it may have originally been landscaped? It’s so hard to find ideas for Italian Renaissance landscaping that work in the Midwest!
https://www.google.com/maps/@41.7650581,-88.3155458,3a,49.1y,105.14h,94.08t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1swEfz6TLMeo5j_hkajlVyQw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Your example of the tall cornice/frieze with windows reminds me of a grand house in our old neighborhood in Omaha at the corner of 38th and Jackson. It has rectangular windows, but beautiful colored inset details between them (I believe they are glazed terra cotta or tile). I believe the building on the left (east) was originally the matching carriage house, which has since been converted to apartments. https://www.google.com/maps/@41.2548288,-95.9683972,3a,48.4y,198.45h,99.56t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sKjVKNjbQ082PvWlezPf2Eg!2e0!7i13312!8i6656
Hmmm. I don’t know much about landscaping… especially for a context as specific as yours! I would guess that something symmetrical and highly manicured would be a good start; that concept will work with even with plants suited to the Midwest!
I remember the house in Omaha very well; the panels which flank the attic windows actually green marble! According to the book, Omaha City Architecture, It was designed by Omaha architect Thomas R. Kimball who designed numerous important buildings in Nebraska. The house was built in 1901 for F. P. Kirkendall who owned the Kirkendall Boot Company. It’s a handsome example of Italian Renaissance Revival!
It may be of interest, the Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier also makes use of this concept: the service rooms and drive-in garage are on the ground floor, while the second floor has all the living areas elevated to offer best views of the ground surrounding. Some concepts transcend style!
The Villa Savoye is an excellent 20th century example! And, yes, this concept does indeed transcend style. Though the concept remains the same, the French have their own word for it: bel étage which roughly means “beautiful upstairs”. Thanks for thinking of this!
Thank you for this post! Never heard of piano nobile before, but there are instances of this in Chicago too. I’ll take a closer look now!
Glad you liked this… you’ll be surprised at how many examples you’ll find once you start looking!
The main living area of Wright’s Robie House in Chicago follows this pattern.
You’re right; it does! I’d never thought of that before… Wright’s massing and horizontal emphasis makes the house visually distinct from more traditional examples of the concept, but it is an example just the same. Good catch!