Location from Piranesi by Susanna Clarke
The entrance hall where the House begins — or where Piranesi's memory of the House begins, which may not be the same thing.
The First Vestibule has the feeling of a threshold — not because it leads anywhere in particular but because it radiates the sense of beginning. The air here is slightly different from the surrounding halls: cleaner, stiller, as though the House is holding its breath. Piranesi considers this vestibule important, though he cannot always articulate why. It features prominently in his earliest journal entries, which suggests it may be the first place he remembers being. The statues in this vestibule seem to Piranesi to be among the House's finest work. He visits them often, studying the quality of their carving, the expressions on their stone faces, the way the light changes the mood of each figure throughout the day. If the House has a heart, or at least a foyer, this is it.
A grand vestibule of pale marble, larger than the halls that branch from it, with a vaulted ceiling supported by columns carved to resemble bundles of reeds. The statues here are particularly fine — a seated woman with an open book, a child reaching for something unseen, a lion mid-roar. The floor is worn smooth in paths that suggest centuries of foot traffic, though Piranesi is the only person who walks them now. Light enters from somewhere high above, falling in long, angled shafts that move slowly across the floor as the hours pass.
Also known as: The First Hall, The Entrance Vestibule