“I believe that in building, beauty consists of giving to the entire work a form which is truly proper and attractive, and in distributing the parts in a clean and tasteful manner, so that there is a lawful agreement among them, and so that a certain natural beauty and ornateness is produced, which holds the gaze of whoever looks at it. But I think that regarding this kind of work, one must consider above all its nature and its purpose, for the reason that since the beauty of boys is different from that of men, so in buildings requiring gravity and dignity the ornaments must be used sparingly, inasmuch as this very gravity  and dignity serves as their adornment. In ‘charming buildings’ of a less serious nature ['fabbriche delizoise'], however, if a free hand is used in the decoration, no one is likely to object….”

-Piranesi