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Although inspired by Tuscan architecture, Italianate-style houses bear little resemblance to it. Drawing by Theresa Coleman
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By Chuck Ross
Proponents of the Italianate style, popular in the United States from the 1840s until soon after the Civil War, drew their inspiration from 16th century Italy, but those roots can be a bit difficult to see today. Instead of creating exact reproductions of Tuscan farmhouses and Palladian villas, Italianate designers in the United States generally selected elements of these classical forms and applied them for their romantic appeal.
Respectful roots
The style first emerged in a more respectful form in early 19th Century England, where its Renaissance roots were appreciated by wealthy owners of country homes. In the United States, however, the approach became more a pastiche than a loyal adherence to aesthetic ideals. The wealthy might be able to afford more exacting reproductions – Cornelius Vanderbilt's Newport, R. I., mansion, The Breakers, is one such example – but the larger population just wanted a design that looked pretty.
"What we're looking at here is a design and fashion issue, with virtually no intellectual outlook," says Charles Fracchia, founder and president emeritus of the San Francisco Museum & Historical Society. Many of that city's narrow frame townhouses and walk-up apartment buildings feature Italianate characteristics, including projecting eaves visually supported by decorative brackets.
Mass appeal
Italianate, in both cube- and el-shaped plans, became even more prevalent than Greek Revival had been at its peak, according to Janet W. Foster, assistant director of the historic preservation program at Columbia University's Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation. While its break with earlier box-like approaches accounts for part of this popularity, Italianate design also benefited from technological developments paralleling its rise.
"Italianate is the style that comes in with the railroad," Foster says. "It really pushes across with the railroad."
Old-fashioned publicity also helped promote Italianate ideas among increasingly fashion-conscious Americans. Pattern books, which combined detailed building plans along with aspirational, lifestyle-oriented text, were the HGTV of their day. Architects such as Andrew Jackson Downing and Alexander Jackson Davis, and other lesser-known designers, publicized the advantages of Italianate and Gothic Revival styles in their popular pattern-book offerings.
What to look for
The following characteristics are common to Italianate-styled homes:
- Eaves extend beyond exterior walls and appear to be supported by decorative brackets or corbels.
- Unlike Queen Anne residences, Italianate exteriors generally feature a single surface material – stucco or brick in the city, clapboard in the country, Foster says. The mortar in masonry walls may be tinted to give the appearance of a unified surface.
- In some cases, a tower may be included, hinting at Italian campanile or belvedere towers.
- In country or suburban settings, porches provide a visual link to the outdoors, a truly American addition also seen in other revival styles. "European houses don't have porches," Foster says. "It's like nothing you'd ever see in Italy."
- Porch columns are square, with a chamfer cut out of their tops, creating a slender and more delicate appearance than that seen on Queen Anne porch columns, for example.
Chuck Ross is a freelance writer based in Brewster, Mass., and specializing in construction topics.
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