The Venetian Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) may have only built a handful of buildings in Venice, but his four carefully illustrated books of calm, balanced structures influenced buildings during, and especially after, his life–for centuries.
Palladio designed large structures yet made them look simple, elegant, and powerful at the same time through his use of proportion and detail.
His churches, businesses, and villas were popular during his life and led to commissions of palaces. He used common building materials but decorated them elegantly to establish their status. His columns with acanthus leaved capitals are familiar on buildings, monuments and mausoleums.
The Archives and Special Collections at Norwich University has many books on architecture, from ancient fortifications to current design. We are open every weekday from 1-6, during school, and from 1-4 during other times.
These books were a gift of Caleb Hornbostel.
