The Rotonda of Andrea Palladio

Andrea Palladio (1508–1580), the best known architect of the Veneto in the sixteenth century, was one of the greatest artists of the Renaissance. His influence on the eighteenth-century classical revival was profound, and his lasting importance rests on his theories of proportion in architecture generally and in Roman architecture in particular. His designs had wide repercussions, from Inigo Jones and Sir Christopher Wren in England to Jacopo Quarenghi’s work at St. Petersburg in Russia.

The present study on the Rotonda inaugurates a publishing program of major proportions: a comprehensive twenty-volume series of monographs, each devoted to one of Palladio’s major buildings. The idea of creating a “Corpus Palladianum” to include all of the works of the artist arises from the need of scholars, architects, and connoisseurs for a complete documentation of Palladio’s oeuvre with extensive photographic illustration. Until now the number of available reproductions, even of his most famous villas, has been extremely limited, especially as regards the decoration of the interiors. By means of this new series scholars will have access—for the first time—to detailed views of plastic and pictorial decoration. These, together with plans and elevations, serve as a thorough, well-rounded visual presentation of each architectural monument.

In The Rotonda Professor Semenzato of the University of Padua provides an intensive study of the genesis of the most influential of all Palladian villas, as well as of its subsequent modifications. The building is also considered as an aesthetic entity, especially in relation to its natural surroundings, and as an expression of both architectonic theory and the humanistic culture of the period. Black-and-white plates, color illustrations, and fold-out pans complete the visual presentation. The existing literature on the building is well covered, and notes describing the interior decoration round out this indispensable survey of one of the best-known monuments in the history of architecture.