The façade consists of two stories, the lower consisting of a loggia of six round arches between two solid structures, while the upper is pierced by eight two-light Venetian Gothic windows. The two solid structures contain windows, and originally supported square towers, of which only the lower parts remain. The capitals of the columns in the loggia are partly Gothic and partly Renaissance work, while the arches which they support are all in the latter style. Examining the capitals in detail, we find that the elaborate half column adorned with the figure of Æsculapius is obviously the work of Onofrio, and so are the other three outer capitals. They are far bolder in design and more perfect in execution than the three classical ones in the centre. The Æsculapius is a very interesting piece of work. It represents an old man seated with an open book in his hand, a number of alembics, retorts, and other scientific instruments by his side, and two men standing beyond, one with a fowl in his hand. It is evidently intended to represent an alchemist or physician giving advice. The capital next to this one is considered by Jackson to be the finest of all: “The tender rigidity of the foliage, the delicate pencilling of the fibres, and the just proportioning of light and shade in this lovely piece of sculpture can hardly be surpassed.”[512] The columns themselves are all by Onofrio, and the wall belongs to the same period, as is proved by an inscription recording the erection of the Palace in 1435. The three middle capitals, all the heavy abaci, and the round arches which they support are the work of Orsini. It is extremely probable that the original arches of Onofrio were pointed, but that they and the middle capitals were so injured by fire that new ones had to be provided, and Orsini, wishing to give the building as much of a Renaissance character as possible, built round arches in the place of pointed ones. But to do this he had to supply the heavy abaci which we now see in the place of Onofrio’s shallow ones, so as to make the arches high enough to support the vaultings. It is curious that the upper story, above the restored Renaissance arches of the loggia, should belong to the earlier period. According to Mr. Graham Jackson, the explanation lies in the fact that in the restoration the old materials—columns and other adornments—which had fallen without being hopelessly damaged were used. The capitals of the upper windows are small, but excellent in design. Their chief _motif_ is foliage intertwined with faces of human beings and lions. Some of them remind us distantly of the capitals in the Franciscan cloister, although the latter are of course of a much earlier date. [Illustration: SCULPTURED IMPOST, RECTOR’S PALACE]