Architectural Greatness: Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio (1518 û 1580) has been characterized as the greatest architect of the Italian Renaissance associated with the Venetian style (Fleming, 1995). As the author of the highly influential Four Books of Architecture published in Venice in 1570, Palladio has left posterity a detailed discussion of his philosophy of architecture. Palladio paid eloquent tribute to his own model, the ancient Roman Vitrubius, whose writings stimulated PalladioÆs study of the classical buildings in Rome. PalladioÆs thought and his style have had a wide and long-lasting influence on architecture in such diverse settings as France, England, Ireland, and in the United States (Fleming, 1995).
It is the purpose of this analysis to examine the life, work, and influence of Palladio. An overview of PalladioÆs theories of architecture and a discussion of his position in the Renaissance and some of his most significant buildings will be presented. Lifestyle issues impacting upon PalladioÆs advancement into the premier ranks of Renaissance architects will also be considered. It will be demonstrated that PalladioÆs work presented references to Roman antiquity and classical building construction while simultaneously ushering in the emergence of new ideas and new forms for the expression of these ideas (Gardner, 1952).
The Life of Palladio
In discussing Palladio, Michael Raeburn (1988, p. 141) stated that the architectÆs training ômore nearly approximates the modern idea of the architect as a trained professionalö than that of his contemporaries, including Bramante, Sangallo, Raphael and Michelangelo. Born in Padua, Italy, in 1580, Palladio worked his way up the artistic and social hierarchy to become, by his death in 1580, the unofficial first architect of Venice. His working life coincided, says Raeburn (1988), with a significant change in the economy of the Venetian...