Palla unitaria
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'', in a modestly priced English translation published in London, 1736.
Palladian architecture is a
European style of
architecture derived from the designs of the
Venetian architect
Andrea Palladio (1508–1580). The term "Palladian" normally refers to buildings in a style inspired by Palladio's own work; that which is recognised as Palladian architecture today is an evolution of Palladio's original concepts. 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.
Palladianism became popular briefly in
Britain during the mid-17th century. In the early 18th century it returned to fashion, not only in England but also in many northern European countries. British Palladianism is present in Manuel da Maia's reconstruction of
Lisbon under the auspices of the
Marquis de Pombal following the
1755 Lisbon Earthquake, notably the
Praça do Comércio and adjacent
Rossio and
Baixa Pombalina
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. From the latter half of the 19th century it was rivalled by the
Gothic revival, whose champions, such as
Augustus Pugin, remembering the origins of Palladianism in ancient temples, deemed it too pagan for
Protestant and
Anglo-Catholic worship.
However, as an architectural style it has continued to be popular and to evolve; its
pediments, symmetry and proportions are clearly evident in the design of many modern buildings today.
Palladio's architecture
by Palladio from the ''
Quattro Libri dell'Architettura''. The extending wings are agricultural buildings and are not part of the villa. In the 18th century they became an important part of Palladianism—see photograph of
Woburn Abbey below.
Buildings entirely designed by
Palladio are all in
Venice and the
Veneto, with an especially rich grouping of palazzi in
Vicenza, vaunted now in guidebooks as ''Palladio's City''. They include
villas, and churches such as
Redentore in Venice. In Palladio's architectural
treatises he followed the principles defined by the
Roman architect
Vitruvius and his 15th-century disciple
Leon Battista Alberti, who adhered to principles of
classical Roman architecture based on mathematical proportions rather than the rich ornamental style also characteristic of the
Renaissance.
Palladio always designed his
villas with reference to their setting. If on a hill, such as Villa Capra,
facades were frequently designed to be of equal value so that occupants could have fine views in all directions. Also, in such cases,
porticos were built on all sides so that occupants could fully appreciate the countryside while being protected from the sun, similar to many
American-style
porches of today. Palladio sometimes used a
loggia as an alternative to the portico. This can most simply be described as a recessed portico, or an internal single storey room, with pierced walls that are open to the elements. Occasionally a loggia would be placed at second floor level over the top of a loggia below, creating what was known as a double loggia. Loggias were sometimes given significance in a facade by being surmounted by a pediment. Villa Godi has as its focal point a loggia rather than a portico, plus loggias terminating each end of the main building.
Palladio would often model his villa elevations on
Roman temple facades. The temple influence, often in a
cruciform design, later became a
trademark of his work. Palladian villas are usually built with three floors: a rusticated
basement or ground floor, containing the service and minor rooms. Above this, the
piano nobile accessed through a portico reached by a flight of external steps, containing the principal reception and bedrooms, and above it is a low
mezzanine floor with secondary bedrooms and accommodation. The proportions of each room within the villa were calculated on simple mathematical ratios like 3:4 and 4:5, and the different rooms within the house were interrelated by these ratios. Earlier architects had used these formulas for balancing a single symmetrical facade; however, Palladio's designs related to the whole, usually square, villa.
Palladio deeply considered the dual purpose of his villas as both farmhouses and palatial weekend retreats for wealthy
merchant owners. These symmetrical temple-like houses often have equally symmetrical, but low, wings sweeping away from them to accommodate horses, farm animals, and agricultural stores. The wings, sometimes detached and connected to the villa by
colonnades, were designed not only to be functional but also to complement and accentuate the villa. They were, however, in no way intended to be part of the main house, and it is in the design and use of these wings that Palladio's followers in the 18th century adapted to become an integral part of the building.
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| image1 = Palazzo della Ragione.gif
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| caption1 = The Palladian, or Serlian, arch or window, as interpreted by Palladio (Detail of drawing from ''
Quattro Libri dell'Architettura'')
| image2 = Palladian window.jpg
| width2 = 175
| caption2 = Late 18th century Palladian window in a
neoclassical interpretation by
Robert Adam
The Palladian window
The Palladian, Serlian, or Venetian window features largely in Palladio's work, almost a trademark in his early career. It consists of a central light with semicircular arch over, carried on an impost consisting of a small
entablature, under which, and enclosing two other lights, one on each side, are
pilasters. In the library at Venice,
Sansovino varied the design by substituting columns for the two inner pilasters. To describe its origin as being either Palladian or Venetian is not accurate; the motif was first used by
Donato Bramante (Ackerman) and later mentioned by
Sebastiano Serlio (1475–1554) in his seven-volume architectural book ''
Tutte l'opere d'architettura et prospetiva'' expounding the ideals of Vitruvius and Roman architecture, this arched window is flanked by two lower rectangular openings, a motif that first appeared in the
triumphal arches of ancient Rome. Palladio used the motif extensively, most notably in the arcades of the
Basilica Palladiana in
Vicenza. It is also a feature of his entrances to both
Villa Godi and
Villa Forni Cerato. It is perhaps this extensive use of the motif in the
Veneto that has given the window its alternative name of the Venetian window; it is also known as a Serlian window. Whatever the name or the origin, this form of window has probably become one of the most enduring features of Palladio's work seen in the later architectural styles, evolved from Palladianism.
Early Palladianism
was the designer of the
Queen's House, Greenwich, begun in 1616, the first English Palladian house.
In 1570 Palladio published his book, ''
I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura'', which inspired architects across Europe.
During the 17th century, many architects studying in Italy learned of Palladio's work. Foreign architects then returned home and adapted Palladio's style to suit various
climates,
topographies and personal tastes of their clients. Isolated forms of Palladianism throughout the world were brought about in this way. However, the Palladian style did not reach the zenith of its popularity until the 18th century, primarily in
England,
Ireland and later
North America.
The most influential follower of Palladio anywhere, however, was the English
Inigo Jones, who travelled throughout Italy with the 'Collector' Earl of Arundel, annotating his copy of Palladio's treatise, in 1613–14.
However, the Palladian designs advocated by Inigo Jones were too closely associated with the court of Charles I to survive the turmoil of the civil war. Following the Stuart restoration Jones's Palladianism was eclipsed by the
baroque designs of such architects as
William Talman and Sir
John Vanbrugh,
Nicholas Hawksmoor, and even Jones' pupil
John Webb.
, South facade, was designed by
Colen Campbell and completed in 1720. The design is based on Palladio's
Villa Emo
English Palladian revival (neo-Palladian)
The
baroque style, popular in continental
Europe, was never truly to the English taste. It was quickly superseded when, in the first quarter of the 18th century, four books were published in Britain which highlighted the simplicity and purity of classical architecture. These were:
#''
Vitruvius Britannicus'' published by
Colen Campbell, 1715 (of which supplemental volumes appeared through the century)
#''Palladio's Four Books of Architecture'' translated by
Giacomo Leoni, published from 1715 onwards.
#
Leone Battista Alberti's ''
De Re Aedificatoria'', translated by Giacomo Leoni, published 1726.
#''The Designs of Inigo Jones... with Some Additional Designs'', published by
William Kent, 2 vols., 1727 (A further volume, ''Some Designs of Mr. Inigo Jones and Mr. William Kent'' was published in 1744 by the architect
John Vardy, an associate of Kent.)
The most popular of these among the wealthy patrons of the day was the four-volume ''Vitruvius Britannicus'' by Colen Campbell. Campbell was both an architect and a publisher. The book was basically a book of design containing architectural prints of British buildings, which had been inspired by the great architects from
Vitruvius to Palladio; at first mainly those of Inigo Jones, but the later tomes contained drawings and plans by Campbell and other 18th-century architects. These four books greatly contributed to Palladian revival architecture becoming established in 18th-century Britain. Their three authors became the most fashionable and sought after architects of the era. Due to his book ''Vitruvius Britannicus'',
Colen Campbell was chosen as the architect for banker
Henry Hoare I's
Stourhead house (''illustration below''), a masterpiece that became the inspiration for dozens of similar houses across England.
, East facade, based on Palladio's Villa Emo. Both images are from Colen Campbell's ''Vitruvius Britannicus''
At the forefront of the new school of design was the aristocratic "architect earl",
Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington; In 1729, he and William Kent, designed
Chiswick House. This House was a reinterpretation of Palladio's Villa Capra, but purified of 16th century elements and ornament. This severe lack of ornamentation was to be a feature of the Palladian revival.
In 1734
William Kent and Lord Burlington designed one of England's finest examples of palladian revival houses with
Holkham Hall in
Norfolk. The main block of this house followed Palladio's dictates quite closely, but Palladio's low, often detached, wings of farm buildings were elevated in significance. Kent attached them to the design, banished the farm animals, and elevated the wings to almost the same importance as the house itself. Often these wings were adorned with porticos and pediments, often resembling, as at the much later
Kedleston Hall, small
country houses in their own right. It was the development of the flanking wings that was to cause English Palladianism to evolve from being a pastiche of Palladio's original work.
, designed by Burlington's student
Henry Flitcroft in 1746. Palladio's central temple is no longer free standing, the wings are now elevated to near equal importance, and the cattle sheds terminating Palladio's design are now clearly part of the facade.
Architectural styles evolve and change to suit the requirements of each individual client. When in 1746 the
Duke of Bedford decided to rebuild
Woburn Abbey, he chose the Palladian style for the design, as this was now the most fashionable of the era. He selected architect
Henry Flitcroft, a protege of Burlington. Flitcroft's designs, while Palladian in nature, would not be recognised by Palladio himself. The central block is small, only three bays, the temple-like portico is merely suggested, and it is in fact closed. Two great flanking wings containing a vast suite of
state rooms replace the walls or colonnades which should have connected to the farm buildings; the farm buildings terminating the structure are elevated in height to match the central block, and given
Palladian windows, to ensure they are seen as of Palladian design. This development of the style was to be repeated in countless houses, and town halls in Britain over one hundred years. Falling from favour during the Victorian era, it was revived by Sir
Aston Webb for his refacing of
Buckingham Palace in 1913. Often the terminating blocks would have blind porticos and pilasters themselves, competing for attention with, or complementing the central block. This was all very far removed from the designs of Palladio two hundred years earlier.
English Palladian houses were now no longer the small but exquisite weekend retreats from which their Italian counterparts were conceived. They were no longer
villas but "power houses" in Sir
John Summerson's term, the symbolic centres of power of the Whig "squirearchy" that ruled Britain. As the Palladian style swept Britain, all thoughts of mathematical proportion were swept away. Rather than square houses with supporting wings, these buildings had the length of the facade as their major consideration; long houses often only one room deep were deliberately deceitful in giving a false impression of size.
Irish Palladianism
, Ireland in 1826. Designed by the German Richard Cassels circa 1750, it is closer in design to Palladio's concepts than similar Palladian style houses in England, such as Woburn Abbey.
During the Palladian revival period in
Ireland, even quite modest mansions were cast in a neo-Palladian mould. Palladian architecture in Ireland subtly differs from that in England. While adhering as in other countries to the basic ideals of Palladio, it is often truer to them – perhaps because it was often designed by architects who had come directly from mainland Europe, and therefore were not influenced by the evolution that Palladianism was undergoing in Britain. Whatever the reason, Palladianism still had to be adapted for the wetter, colder weather.
One of the most pioneering Irish architects was Sir
Edward Lovett Pearce (1699–1733), who became one of the leading advocates of Palladianism in Ireland. A cousin of Sir
John Vanbrugh, he was originally one of his pupils, but rejecting the baroque, he spent three years studying architecture in
France and Italy, before returning home to Ireland. His most important Palladian work is the former
Irish Houses of Parliament in Dublin. He was a prolific architect who also designed the south facade of
Drumcondra House in 1727 and
Cashel Palace in 1728.
One of the most notable examples of Palladianism in Ireland is the
Castletown House, near
Dublin. Designed by the Italian architect
Alessandro Galilei (1691–1737), it is perhaps the only Palladian house in Ireland to have been built with Palladio's mathematical ratios, and one of the three Irish mansions which claim to have inspired the design of the
White House in
Washington.
Other examples include
Russborough, designed by
Richard Cassels, an architect of German origin, who also designed the Palladian Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, and
Florence Court,
County Fermanagh. Irish Palladian
Country houses often have robust
Rococo plasterwork, frequently executed by the
Lafranchini brothers, an Irish speciality, which is far more flamboyant than the interiors of their contemporaries in England. So much of Dublin was built in the 18th century that it set a
Georgian stamp on the city; however arising out of bad planning and poverty, until recently Dublin was one of the few cities where fine 18th-century housing could be seen in ruinous condition. Elsewhere in Ireland after 1922, the lead was removed from the roofs of unoccupied Palladian houses for its value as scrap, with the houses often abandoned owing to excessive roof-rate based taxes. Some roofless Palladian houses can still be found in the depopulated Irish countryside.
at the
University of Virginia, designed in the Palladian manner by
Thomas Jefferson.
North American Palladianism
Palladio's influence in North America
was modeled after the
Villa Pisani at Montagnana from ''The Four Books of Architecture by Andrea Palladio''
The
Hammond-Harwood House in
Annapolis, Maryland (''illustration'') is perhaps the finest example of Palladian architecture in the United States. It is the only existing work of colonial academic architecture that was principally designed from a plate in
Andrea Palladio’s ''Quattro Libri''.The house was designed by the architect
William Buckland in 1773–74 for wealthy farmer Matthias Hammond of
Anne Arundel County,
Maryland. It was modeled on the design of the
Villa Pisani in
Montagnana,
Italy in Book II, Chapter XIV of ''I Quattro Libri dell’Achitettura.''
The architect
Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826) once referred to Palladio's '' Quattro Libri'' as his
bible. Jefferson acquired an intense appreciation of Palladio's architectural concepts, and his designs for his own beloved
Monticello,
In
Virginia and
Carolina, the Palladian manner is epitomised in numerous
Tidewater plantation houses, such as
Stratford Hall or
Westover Plantation, or
Drayton Hall near
Charleston. These examples are all classic American
colonial examples of a Palladian taste that was transmitted through
engravings, for the benefit of masons—and patrons, too—who had no first-hand experience of European building practice. A feature of American Palladianism was the re-emergence of the great portico, which again, as in Italy, fulfilled the need of protection from the sun; the portico in various forms and size became a dominant feature of American
colonial architecture. In the north European countries the portico had become a mere symbol, often closed, or merely hinted at in the design by
pilasters, and sometimes in very late examples of English Palladianism adapted to become a
porte-cochere; in America, the Palladian portico regained its full glory.
One house which clearly shows this Palladian-Gibbs influence is
Mount Airy, in
Richmond County, Virginia, built in 1758–62.
, designed by
James Hoban
At
Westover the north and south entrances, made of imported
Portland stone, were patterned after a plate in William Salmon's ''Palladio Londinensis'' (1734).''"
The distinctive feature of
Drayton Hall, its two-storey portico, was derived directly from Palladio.
Thomas Jefferson must have gained particular pleasure as the second occupant of the
White House in Washington, which was doubtless inspired by Irish Palladianism. Both Castle Coole and Richard Cassel's
Leinster House in Dublin claim to have inspired the architect
James Hoban, who designed the executive mansion, built between 1792 and 1800. Hoban, born in
Callan,
County Kilkenny, in 1762, studied architecture in Dublin, where Leinster House (built circa 1747) was one of the finest buildings at the time. The Palladianism of the White House is interesting as it is almost an early form of neoclassicism, especially the South facade, which closely resembles
James Wyatt's design for
Castle Coole of 1790, also in Ireland. Ironically, the North facade lacks one of the floors from Leinster House, while the Southern facade is given one floor more than Castle Coole, and has an external staircase more in the Palladian manner. Castle Coole is, in the words of the architectural commentator Gervase Jackson-Stops, "A culmination of the Palladian traditions, yet strictly neoclassical in its chaste ornament and noble austerity."
The same can be said of many houses in the American Palladian style.
, active between 1780s and 1810s, transformed the city of
Saint Petersburg,
Russia into the outdoor museum of Palladian revival
One of the adaptations made to Palladianism in America was that the piano nobile now tended to be placed on the ground floor, rather than above a service floor, as was the tradition in Europe. This service floor, if it existed at all, was now a discreet semi-basement. This negated the need for an ornate external staircase leading to the main entrance as in the more original Palladian designs. This would also be a feature of the neoclassical style that followed Palladianism.
The only two houses in the United States—from the English colonial period (1607–1776)—that can be definitively attributed to designs from the ''Four Books of Architecture'' are architect William Buckland's
Hammond-Harwood House (1774) in
Annapolis, Maryland, and Thomas Jefferson's first Monticello. The design source for the Hammond-Harwood House is Villa Pisani at
Montagnana (Book II, Chapter XIV), and for the first Monticello (1770) the design source is
Villa Cornaro at
Piombino Dese (Book II, Chapter XIV). Thomas Jefferson later covered this facade with later additions so that the Hammond-Harwood House remains the only pure and pristine example of direct modeling in America today.
The Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc., a non-profit membership organization, was founded in 1979 to research and promote understanding of Palladio’s influence in the United States.
Decline of Palladianism
By the 1770s, in Britain, such architects as
Robert Adam and Sir
William Chambers were in huge popular demand, but they were now drawing on a great variety of classical sources, including ancient
Greece, so much so that their forms of architecture were eventually defined as
neoclassical rather than Palladian. In Europe, the Palladian revival ended by the end of the 18th century. In North America, Palladianism lingered a little longer; Thomas Jefferson's floor plans and elevations owe a great deal to Palladio's ''Quattro Libri.'' The term "Palladian" today is often misused, and tends to describe a building with any classical pretensions.
See also
Kerelaw House Palladian Villas of the Veneto Poplar Forest Stoke Park Pavilions Vincenzo Scamozzi Giacomo Quarenghi
Notes
References
Ackerman, Jaaes S. (1994). '/Palladio'' (seraes "Architect and Society")
Adward Chaney (2<00), "George Berkeley's Grand Tours: The Immaterialist as Connoisseur of Art and Architecture", The Evolution of the Grand Tour, 2nd ed. Routle`ge. ISBN 0-7146%4474-9.
Coptlestone, Trewin$(1963). ''World(Architecture''.,Hamlyn.
Dal Lago, Adalbert (1966). ''Ville Antiche''. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri.
Frampton, Kenneth. (2001). ''Studies in Tectonic Culture''.
MIT Press.,ISBN 0-262-56149-2"
Halliday, E" E. (1967). ''Cultural History of England''. London: Thames and Hudson.
Jackson-Stops, Gervase (1990). ''The Country House in Perspective''. Pavilion Books Ltd.
Kostof, Spiro. ''A History of Architecture''. New York:
Oxford University Press Lewis, Hilary, and John O'Connor, (1994). ''Philip Johnson: The architect in His Own Words'', Rizzoli International Publications, New York, New York
Marten Paolo, (1993). ''Palladio''. Benedikt Taschen Verlag GmbH, Koln
Reed, Henry Hope, and Joseph C. Farber, (1980) ''Palladio's Architecture and Its Influence'', Dover Publications Inc., New York,
Tavernor, Robert, (1979).''Palladio and Palladianism'' (series "World of Art")
Watkin, David (1979). ''English Architecture''. London: Thames and Hudson.
Wittkower, Rudolf. ''Architectural Principles in the Age of Humanism''
External links
Chiswick House Holkham Hall International center for the study of the architecture of Andrea Palladio (CISA) Palladian Architecture in England The Center for Palladian Studies in America, Inc. Palladio's Villas Thomas Jefferson's architecture Woburn Abbey Wallington Hall – National Trust
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|title= Palladianism Style Guide
|work=British Galleries
|accessdate= 2007-07-17