Summary

Andrea Palladio is universally regarded as one of the most important architects of the Re-naissance. He was the first "professional architect" and was strongly influenced by Greek and Roman architecture, particularly by Vitruvius. His treatise "Quattro libri dell'architettura" also earned him worldwide recognition.

Palladio's villas meanwhile are UNESCO World Heritage Sites.

This book documents and analyzes ten of Palladio's eighteen surviving villas specifically in terms of their relationship with their natural surroundings; their influence on those surroundings is investigated as well. The selected villas constitute a representative cross section of Palladio's wide-ranging output. The landscape formations of Veneto, where these villas are located, may be divided into three types: plains surrounded by mountains, arid plains, and marshland.

Gerrit Smienk is a landscape architect with many years teaching experience at the TU Delft and the Berlage Institute, Rotterdam, and is a recognized expert on the Italian Renaissance.

Andrea Palladio kann zweifelsohne als einer der bedeutendsten Architekten weltweit gelten. Er war der erste «Berufsarchitekt» und wurde durch die römische und griechische Architektur, vornehmlich Vitruv, stark geprägt. Auch seine Abhandlung «Quattro libri dell'architettura» brachte ihm weltweit Anerkennung. Die Villen Palladios gehören inzwischen dem UNESCO Weltkulturerbe an.

Die ausgestellten Villen bilden einen repräsentativen Querschnitt des umfangreichen Schaffens Palladios. Die Landschaftsformationen Venetiens, in denen diese Villen stehen, lassen sich in drei Typen aufgliedern: Ebenen, von Bergen umsäumt, Trockenebenen und Marschland. Im Buch werden zehn der 18 erhaltenen Villen Palladios in ihrem spezifischen Zusammenhang zu ihrer jeweiligen landschaftlichen Umgebung dokumentieren und analysieren, ihr Einfluss auf das Landschaftsbild wird untersucht.

Der Autor Gerrit Smienk lehrte als Landschaftsarchitekt über viele Jahre an der TU Delft und dem Berlage Institute in Rotterdam und ist ein ausgewiesener Kenner der italienischen Renaissance

Choice Review

The authors, in collaboration with the Faculty of Architecture, Delft University of Technology, the Netherlands, investigate the relationship between the agricultural villas of Andrea Palladio (1508-80) and their surrounding farms and landscape. Rather than isolated architectural monuments (as they are often presented), Palladio's villas are sensitively, symbiotically, and naturally related to the rich agricultural environment of the Veneto region of north Italy. In contrast to the Renaissance villas in the vicinity of Florence and Rome, Palladian villas must be understood not primarily as country estates, but as carefully planned working farms. The authors present an intelligent argument based on extensive visual and written evidence, convincingly demonstrating the integration of villa and countryside, patrician lifestyles, and farm management. This lavishly produced book is a feast for the eyes, effectively using well-drawn maps, architectural and site plans, elevation and sectional drawings, colored diagrams, and spectacular photography (120-plus color photographs), including breathtaking aerial views of the villas and their surrounding countryside. By itself, the extensive and luscious visual materials persuade the reader and guarantee the book's accessibility and wide interest. Summing Up: Highly recommended. Upper-level undergraduates and above; general readers. W. E. Wallace Washington University