has been very little said concerning rules of design in its architecture. Nevertheless, I have studied the problem enough to say that many, if not all, great Spanish architectural works in the baroque period were planned with conscious adherence to rules on the part of the architects, at least in the construction of arches, vaulting, and domes.

Spanish art in America has always been considered a creole art, fanciful and without fixed rules of proportion. Therefore it had never occurred to anyone to look for such standards in examples of colonial architecture in Peru or, probably, anywhere in South America. A few years ago El Comercio of Lima published an interesting article,1 written by the architect Emilio HarthTerré, on the subject Rules of Design in Colonial Art. The author said that he had found, purely by accident, geometric proportions in the arches of the Church of St. Francis of Assisi in Huamanga (Ayacucho), "erected," according to the text, "by the Franciscan order, a brotherhood closely connected with Italy." Moreover, Señor HarthTerré supposes that there may be other buildings in Peru planned with a conscious application of the rules of design, and he laments that "as yet technical studies of colonial art which, if systematically carried out, would be of great benefit to our historical knowledge have not attained their due importance."

I had not proposed to carry out research in this field; nevertheless, when about a year ago I was taking measurements in the Cathedral of Lima to draw a complete plan of it as it is today, I realized that I had here a series of numbers, in centimeters, which was repeated frequently and regularly. I began to notice that the numbers were all related to a basic 28 centimeters, for instance: 7, 14, 28, 42, 56, 84, 112, 140, etc. The larger measurements were all, or almost all,

This article also appeared in "El Arquitecto Peruano," Lima, March 1941.

multiples of 28 centimeters, for example, 7.0 meters, 8.4 meters, 11.2 meters, etc. Then I understood that all the measurements of the Cathedral had been based on the Spanish pie, which practically equals 28 centimeters. This discovery aroused my interest and, once the plan resulting from my measurements had been drawn, I began to search for what I believed must exist in the Cathe

dral of Lima: geometric proportions between the various elements composing the building.

seen.

In Figure 1 the results of the study can be Few explanations are necessary. In Lima, as in several Spanish cathedrals of the same period (Jaén, Valladolid, Zaragoza), one finds the relation between the width of the side aisles and the nave to be 2.5 to 4, while that between the width of the nave and that of the flanking columns is 4 to 1. This absolute regularity in the ground plan led me to believe that there must be an equally exact proportion between the width of the side aisles and the nave and their height to the impost of the arches. In many Spanish churches this height is fixed in proportion to width at 1 to 1, 1 to 1.5, or 1 to 2. In the case of the Cathedral of Lima it seemed that the proportion would have to be 1 to 2 in the side aisles and 4 to 5 in the nave. In other words, the vertical measurement should theoretically be 50 pies, equal to 14 meters. However, investigations showed that the height was only 13.5 meters. I could not believe that there had been an error in construction or planning, since the building showed an admirable exactitude in its other elements. Rather I came to the conclusion that there must exist an earlier, lower, floor level, and that the 50 centimeters difference were the result of later fillings of débris fallen in the various

2 Since the side aisles are 25 feet wide, and the nave 40 feet, a height of 50 feet would result in the proportions of 1:2 and 4:5.

there are slight differences between theory and reality. The theoretical lines, geometrically exact, are represented by a heavy line at the right hand side of the drawing. It is plain that the differences arising from later building are insignificant.

A systematic analysis of existing structures would be of great value in the restoration of monumental edifices totally or partially destroyed by earthquakes or other external

causes. And this study, I must not neglect to mention, would be of great benefit to the originators of the so-called "neo-colonial" art, in which a loose plagiarism of decorative features results in a disastrous general effect; for beauty, whether it be in a great cathedral, a mansion, or a small cottage, depends first of all upon perfection in proportion, to which harmonious details may later be added.

TO KEEP the readers of the BULLETIN informed of the various measures dealing with the war and its effects taken by the American Republics since the United States was attacked by Japan on December 7, 1941, a continuing list is being compiled of laws, decrees, acts, orders, and resolutions published in official gazettes or noted in other publications received at the Pan American Union. While it is attempted to make each monthly installment of the compilation as complete as possible, it is inevitable that some measures should be omitted, because of uncertain mails, delay in receiving recent official papers, and other difficulties.

When a reference stands by itself in parentheses, it is the official source for an item for which an unofficial source was previously given. In order to preserve the numbering of the measures mentioned in the preceding issues, items listed in this number whose dates fall between those of measures already published are inserted with letters following the number.

The official gazettes of the Latin American countries are as follows: Argentina, Boletín Oficial; Brazil, Diário Oficial; Chile, Diario Oficial; Colombia, Diario Oficial; Costa Rica, Gaceta Oficial; Cuba, Gaceta Oficial; Dominican Republic, Gaceta Oficial; El Salvador, Diario Oficial; Ecuador, Registro Oficial; Guatemala, Diario de Centro América; Haiti, Le Moniteur; Honduras, La Gaceta; Mexico, Diario Oficial; Nicaragua, La Gaceta; Panama, Gaceta Oficial; Paraguay, Gaceta Oficial; Peru, El Peruano; Uruguay, Diario Oficial; and Venezuela, Gaceta Oficial.

No items are given for the United States except under Bilateral and Multilateral Measures.

The list was begun in the April 1942 number of the BULLETIN, and omissions will be supplied as information is received from official or other sources. When notice of a measure has been taken from an unofficial account, the official source will be given as soon as it is available.