Few architects have left a legacy as enduring and influential as Andrea Palladio. Born in 1508 in the Republic of Venice, he transformed the landscape of Renaissance architecture and laid the foundations of what now is recognized as neoclassical design. His villas, palaces, and churches brought together mathematical harmony, classical inspiration, and humanist ideals, achieving a balance of grandeur and restraint that defined the era.
In Vicenza and Venice, Palladio’s patrons—princes of commerce, soldier-aristocrats, and gentlemen of leisure—sought in his buildings a reflection of their admiration for ancient Rome and the humanist culture of the High Renaissance. Palladio’s vision did not remain in Italy: His architectural language crossed borders and oceans, inspiring English country estates, shaping American civic buildings, and leaving its mark on the White House itself.
Art historian Elaine Ruffolo explores Palladio’s life, works, and philosophy, revealing how a stonemason from Vicenza came to shape the foundations of Western architecture.
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