Perrault's Colonnade divided into five parts, is a typical solution of French classicism. The simple character of the ground floor basement sets off the paired Corinthian columns, modeled strictly according to Vitruvius, against a shadowed void, with pavilions at the ends. This idea of coupled columns on a high podium goes back as far as Bramante. Those rhythmical columns form a shadowed colonnade with a central pedimented triumphal arch entrance raised on a high, rather defensive base. Crowned by an uncompromising Italian balustrade along its distinctly non-French flat roof, the whole ensemble represents a ground-breaking departure in French architecture. Perrault (1613–1688) won
Great Colonnade at Palmyra in a northwest-southeast direction towards the "propylaea" of the Temple of Bel. Work on the colonnade started after the completion of the "propylaea" in 175 CE and continued through the beginning of the third-century CE. This section is the widest of the Great Colonnade with a uniform width of for the main street and for the sidewalks. A corner of the "temenos" of the Temple of Nebu was demolished to allow the colonnade an uninterrupted line of sight towards the Monumental Arch from the west and a wider access to the section leading to the Temple of Bel. A "nymphaeum"