ANDREA PALLADIO

Andrea Palladio (30 November 1508 19

August 1580) was an Italian architect active in
the Republic of Venice. Palladio, influenced
by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily
by Vitruvius, is widely considered to be the
most influential individual in the history of
architecture. All of his buildings are located
in what was the Venetian Republic, but his
teachings, summarized in the architectural
treatise, The Four Books of Architecture,
gained him wide recognition. The city
of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the
Veneto are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

PALLADIO'S EARLY TRAINING:

Apprenticed to a stonecutter when he was 13 years old
Became an assistant in a masonry workshop in Vicenza
Perhaps the key moment that sparked Palladio's career
was being employed by the Humanist poet and
scholar, Gian Giorgio Trissino, from 1538 to 1539.
While Trissino was reconstructing the Villa Cricoli, he took
interest in Palladio's work. Trissino was heavily influenced by
the studies of Vitruvius, who later influenced Palladio's own
ideals and attitudes toward classical architecture.
As the leading intellectual in Vicenza, Trissino stimulated the
young man to appreciate the arts, sciences, and Classical
literature and he granted him the opportunity to study
Ancient architecture in Rome.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

Andrea Palladio is known to be one of the most influential architects in Western architecture. His
architectural works have "been valued for centuries as the quintessence of High Renaissance calm
and harmony". He designed many palaces, villas, and churches, but Palladio's reputation, initially, and
after his death, has been founded on his skill as a designer of villas.

"True Palladianism" in
Villa Godi by Palladio
from the Quattro Libri
dell'Architettura

INSPIRATION :
Palladio's work was strongly based on the symmetry, perspective and values of the formal classical
temple architecture of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. From the 17th century Palladio's
interpretation of this classical architecture was adapted as the style known as Palladianism. It
continued to develop until the end of the 18th century.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

PALLADIAN ARCHITECTURE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

From
the
17th
century
Palladio's
interpretation of this classical architecture
was adapted as the style known as
Palladianism. It continued to develop until
the end of the 18th century. The style
continued to be popular in Europe
throughout the 19th and early 20th
centuries, where it was frequently
employed in the design of public and
municipal buildings

B.ARCH III, SEM V

CERTAIN ELEMENTS OF PALLADIAN ARCHITECTURE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

PALLADIAN WINDOW

The Palladian, Serlian, or Venetian window features largely in Palladio's work

and is almost a trademark of his early career. It consists of a central light with
semicircular arch over, carried on an impost consisting of a small entablature,
and enclosing two other lights, one on each side, are pilasters.
SEMICIRCULAR ARCH

ENTABLATURE

PILASTERS

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

HIS INFLUENCE
Although his buildings are all in a relatively small part of Italy, Palladio's
influence was far-reaching. One factor in the spread of his influence
was the publication in 1570 of his architectural treatise, I Quattro Libri
dell'Architettura (The Four Books of Architecture), which set out rules
others could follow.
In his book he has woodcut plan
and elevation drawings for villas
he
designed,
drawings
for
important temples from antiquity,
and lays out sets of rules covering
nine areas: walls, doors, ceilings,
stairs, columns, windows, frames,
roof and details.
The rules cover both construction
and design. The latter dealt with
geometry, style and proportion.
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

The first book includes studies of

decorative styles, classical orders, and
materials.
The second book included Palladio's
town and country house designs and
classical reconstructions.
The third book has bridge and basilica
designs, city planning designs, and
classical halls.
The fourth book included information
on the reconstruction of ancient
Roman temples.
B.ARCH III, SEM V

DRAWINGS FROM
PALLADIOS
FOUR BOOKS OF
ARCHITECTURE

CHISWIC-HOUSE-PLAN
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

MATERIAL
Palladio's architecture was not dependent on expensive materials, which must have
been an advantage to his more financially pressed clients.
Many of his buildings are of brick covered with stucco. Stuccoed brickwork was always
used in his villa designs in order to portray his interpretations of the Roman villa typology.
HARMONY WITH CULTURE
In the later part of his career, Palladio was chosen by powerful members of Venetian
society for numerous important commissions.
His success as an architect is based not only on the beauty of his work, but also for its
harmony with the culture of his time.
His success and influence came from the integration of extraordinary aesthetic quality
with expressive characteristics that resonated with his client's social aspirations.
His buildings served to communicate, visually, their place in the social order of their
culture.
This powerful integration of beauty and the physical representation of social meanings
is apparent in three major building types: the urban palazzo, the agricultural villa, and
the church.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

Important Buildings by Palladio:

By the 1540s, Palladio was using classical principles to design a series of country villas and urban
palaces for the nobility of Vicenza. One of his most famous is Villa Capra , also known as the
Rotunda, which was modeled after the Roman Pantheon. Palladio also designed the Basilica
Palladiana in Vicenza and Villa Foscari (or La Malcontenta) near Venice. In the 1560s he began
work on religious buildings in Venice. The great basilica San Giorgio Maggiore is one of Palladio's
most elaborate works.

Basilica Palladiana
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

Palazzo Chiericati

Villa Foscari
B.ARCH III, SEM V

1.

VILLA CAPRA, OR VILLA ROTUNDA

VICENZA, ITALY

1566-1571

MALCONTENTA, ITALY

1566-1571

VICENZA, ITALY

1566-1571

HOUSE

2.

VILLA FOSCARI

HOUSE

3.

VILLA TRISSINO
HOUSE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

1.

PALAZZO CHIERICATI

VICENZA, ITALY

1550-1580

VICENZA, ITALY

1550-1580

PALAZZO

2.

PALAZZO CHIERICATI
PALAZZO

3.

DOGE'S PALACE

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

VICENZA, ITALY

B.ARCH III, SEM V

1.

REDENTORE CHURCH

VICENZA, ITALY

1576-15891

CHURCH

2.

SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE

VICENZA, ITALY

1576-1591

CHURCH

3.

TEATRO OLIMPICO

VICENZA, ITALY

1584

THEATER

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THE VILLAS
The term villa was used to describe a country house. Often rich families in
the Veneto also had a house in town called palazzo.
By 1550, Palladio had produced a whole group of villas, whose scale and decoration can
be seen as closely matching the wealth and social standing of the owners:
The powerful and very rich Pisani, bankers and Venetian patricians, had huge vaults and
a loggia faade realized with stone piers and rusticated Doric pilasters;
The wealthy minor noble and salt-tax farmer Taddeo Gazzotto in his villa at Bertesina, had
pilasters executed in brick, though the capitals and bases were carved in stone
Biagio Saraceno at Finale had a loggia with three arched bays, but without any
architectural order.
In the villa Saraceno Palladio was able to give presence and dignity to an exterior simply
by the placing and orchestration of windows, pediments, loggia arcades
His less wealthy patrons must have appreciated the possibility of being able to enjoy
impressive buildings without having to spend much on stone and stone carving.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

VILLA ROTONDA
Situated on the top of a hill just outside the town of
Vicenza, the Villa Capra is called the Villa Rotonda,
because of its completely symmetrical plan with a
central circular hall. The building has a square plan
with loggias on all four sides, which connect to
terraces and the landscape.
The building is rotated 45 degrees to south on the
hilltop, enabling all rooms to receive some sunshine.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THE VILLAS
Villa Emo in Fanzolo

Villa godi valmarana

Villa Tempietto Barbaro Maser

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THE PALAZZOS Palazzos are huge urban palaces.

Palazzo Thiene

Palazzo Thiene

Palazzo Porto

Palazzo delCapitanio

The Palazzo Chiericati

Palazzo Dalla Torre

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

SAN GIORGIO MAGGIORE

San Giorgio Maggiore is a 16th-century Benedictine church on the island of the same name in Venice,
northern Italy, designed by Andrea Palladio, and built between 1566 and 1610. The church is a basilica
in the classical renaissance style and its brilliant white marble gleams above the blue water of the
lagoon. Its gleaming white facade faces across the basin of San Marco to the great piazza.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

Palladio arrived in Venice in 1560, when the refectory of the monastery

was being rebuilt. He made great improvements to this and in 1565,
was asked to prepare a model for a new church
The church, designed by Andrea Palladio (1566-83), was finished in
1611, after his death with the help of many big name architects of the
time (1400s to 1600s) including Giovanni and Andrea Buora and
Baldassare Longhena.

Built as part of the

Benedictine monastery on
the island, the church's
facade is scaled to
present a public face to
the town of Venice. It
dominates and partially
obscures the brick body of
the church behind it, while
it reflects the interior
space of the nave and its
side chapels.
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THE FACADE
The central temple front is articulated with four three-quarter
Composite columns raised on high pedestals, which frame the
central door. In the back plane, the lower body of the church is
articulated by a smaller order of pilasters, supporting two lower,
half pediments on either side. The cornice line continues through
the central body, interlocking the two forms. The deep relief of
these elements, combined with the sculptural detail of capitals,
cornices, niches and figures, makes a great play of light and
dark in the sunlight.

The white faade represents Palladio's

solution to the difficulty of adapting a
classical temple facade to the form of
the Christian church, with its high nave
and low side aisles, which had always
been a problem.
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THE INTERIORS

PLAN

The interior of the church is very bright with

massive engaged columns and pilasters on
undecorated, white-surfaced walls. The
interior combines a long basilican nave with
a cruciform plan with transepts.

The interior plan combines elements of

longitudinal and centralized buildings, a
resolution responding to the Renaissance
"ideal" of the centralized plan and symbolic
cross form and both the medieval tradition
of nave churches and the requirements of
the Counter-reformation for functional
churches with ample naves for a large
congregations as well as side chapels big
enough for celebrating the sacraments.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

SECTION

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THE INTERIORS
The interior ceiling is a longitudinal barrel vault leading to a crossing, framed
by grouped columns and arches, which support a dome lit with a lantern.
Cross vaults above side aisles and a transept with apsidal chapels intersect
the nave, and beyond the crossing is a presbytery and a monk's choir.
Thermal, clerestory windows
bring light to the side chapels
and to the nave, and the SECTION
interior glows with a warm light,
reflected by the painted
stucco surfaces (over brick) of
the walls and vaults.

Interior: The nave, looking east

towards the high altar
HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

In contrast, the architectural

detail of cut stone columns
and pilasters, capitals, bases,
continuous
entablatures,
framed arches and railings,
darkened with age, articulate
the rhythmic sequence of
spaces.

The dome has

a diameter of
40 feet.

B.ARCH III, SEM V

Built by Palladio, the church is decorated by

Tintoretto and Bassano with beautiful paintings.
Light helps illuminate the works of art decorating the
spare interior of white Istrian stone.
The works include the long, dark Adoration of the
Shepherds by Jacopo Bassano and fine Tintoretto
canvases, including Shower of Manna and a dark
and brooding The Last Supper .
The Fall of Manna

The Last Supper

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

View of Venice from the campanile (bell tower)

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

TEATRO OLIMPICO
THE TEATRO OLIMPICO IS A THEATRE IN VICENZA, NORTHERN ITALY, CONSTRUCTED IN
1580-1585.
THE TEATRO OLIMPICO WAS DESIGNED FOR THE VICENZA ACCADEMIA OLIMPICA TO
STAGE THEATRICALPERFORMANCES.
MODELED BY PALLADIO AFTER BOTH HIS STUDIES OF SEVERAL ANCIENT THEATERS AND HIS OWN ILLUSTRATIONS
OF CLASSICAL THEATER DESIGN.
THE THEATRE WAS THE FINAL DESIGN BY THE ITALIAN RENAISSANCE ARCHITECT ANDREA PALLADIO AND WAS NOT
COMPLETED UNTIL AFTER HIS DEATH.
ASIDE FROM A SINGLE SKETCH OF THE SCAENAE FRONS, PALLADIO LEFT NO PLANS AS TO WHAT KIND OF SCENERY
SHOULD BE USED ONSTAGE.
BUT THE SKETCH OF THE PROPOSED SCAENAE FRONS FOR THE TEATRO OLIMPICO SHOWS NO SUCH
STREET SCENES; THE SPACE BEHIND THE CENTRAL ARCHWAY AND THE DOORS TO EACH SIDE IS BLANK.

THIS LAND WAS ACQUIRED IN 1582, AFTER SCAMOZZI HAD TAKEN CHARGE OF THE PROJECT.
THE ACADEMY'S PETITION TO THE CITY GOVERNMENT FOR THE ADDITIONAL LAND ANTICIPATED THAT IF
ACQUIRED, THE SPACE WOULD BE USED TO CREATE PERSPECTIVE SCENERY; IT EXPLAINS THAT THE
EXTRA LAND WOULD BE USED TO BUILD A THEATRE "ALONG THE LINES LAID OUT BY OUR COLLEAGUE
PALLADIO, WHO HAS DESIGNED IT TO PERMIT PERSPECTIVE VIEWS.

THEREFORE, PALLADIO CAN BE GIVEN CREDIT FOR HAVING INSPIRED THE REMARKABLE PERSPECTIVES
WHICH ARE VISIBLE TO THE AUDIENCE THROUGH THE CENTRAL ARCHWAY OF THE SCAENAE FRONS
(ALSO KNOWN AS THE "PORTA REGGIA") AND ALSO THROUGH THE SMALLER SIDE OPENINGS. BUT IT IS
ALSO APPROPRIATE TO REGARD SCAMOZZI AS THE TECHNICAL GENIUS BEHIND THEIR REMARKABLY
SUCCESSFUL EXECUTION.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

INSIDE AN EXTERIOR BRICK BOX, THE ELABORATE WOODEN THEATER

INTERIOR IS A HALF CIRCLE OF STEEP TIERS OF SEATS (WOOD COVERED
BENCHES) FACING A RECTANGULAR STAGE. A WOODEN COLONNADE
WITH CORNICE AND FIGURES ABOVE CIRCLES THE TOP OF THE SEATS.
THE CEILING PLANE IS UNDIFFERENTIATED AND WAS LATER PAINTED
BLUE, SUGGESTING AN OPEN SKY ABOVE THE THEATER.
THE WALLS AND CEILING OF THE PROSCENIUM ARE ELABORATELY
ARTICULATED WITH ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS AND STATUES, MADE OF
WOOD AND PLASTER. A CENTRAL ARCHED OPENING DOMINATES THE
BACK WALL, FLANKED BY TWO SMALLER DOORWAYS. THROUGH THESE
OPENINGS, ELABORATE STAGE SETS OF STREETS ANGLE BACKSTAGE, A
TRIAD THROUGH THE CENTRAL OPENING AND SINGLE STREETS
THROUGH EACH SIDE. THESE SETS, DESIGNED LATER BY SCAMOZZI, USE
TECHNIQUES OF TILTING THE FLOORS AND CONTRACTING THE ANGLE
BETWEEN THE STREET WALLS AND THE HEIGHTS OF THEIR BUILDING
FACADES TO MAKE FORESHORTENED STREETS IN PERSPECTIVE.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

SCAMOZZI'S STAGE SET WAS THE FIRST PRACTICAL INTRODUCTION OF PERSPECTIVE VIEWS
INTO RENAISSANCE THEATRE.
THE SCENERY CONSISTS OF SEVEN HALLWAYS DECORATED TO CREATE THE ILLUSION OF
LOOKING DOWN THE STREETS OF A CITY FROM CLASSICAL ANTIQUITY.
A SET OF SEVEN EXTRAORDINARILY REALISTIC YET FALSE PERSPECTIVES PROVIDE THE
ILLUSION OF LONG STREET VIEWS, WHILE ACTUALLY THE SETS RECEDE ONLY A FEW METERS.
THE WAY IN WHICH SEATS IN ALL PARTS OF THE THEATRE WERE PROVIDED WITH AT LEAST
ONE PERSPECTIVE VIEW .
IT CAN BE SEEN BY OBSERVING THE THEATRE FLOORPLAN AND FOLLOWING THE SIGHT LINES
OF AUDIENCE MEMBERS IN DIFFERENT PARTS OF THE THEATRE.

THESE OIL LAMPS, DESIGNED BY SCAMOZZI,

WERE USED TO CREATE INTERIOR LIGHTING
FOR THE "HOUSES" ALONG THE IMAGINARY
STREETS, FOR THE VERY FIRST PRODUCTION.

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

B.ARCH III, SEM V

THANK YOU

HISTORY OF ARCHITECTURE -III

PRACHI 20
KRISHNA- 21
KRINA - 26
ANERI - 30
PREKSHA- 33
B.ARCH III, SEM V