The Geo-Politics of the Ideal Villa

Author(s): Pier Vittorio Aureli

Source: AA Files, No. 59 (2009), pp. 76-85
Published by: Architectural Association School of Architecture
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41378375 .
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 VillaThiene atCicogna VillaSaregoatMeiga atPoiana
VillaPoiana Maggiore
VillaBadoeratFratta
Polesine VillaZenoatCessalto VillaCornaro
atPiombinoDese
VillaPisaniatMonatagnana VillaEmoatFanzolo atMira
VillaMalcontenta
VillaPisani
atBagnolo VillaRotondanearVicenza Geometrical
pattern villas
ofPalladio's

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 1944Rudolf Wittkower published - wasmaking clearfrom theoutset thatPalladio
twoessaysonPalladio'sarchitecture. The Geo-Politics wasinvested witha programme.4 ForTrissino,
Xn Theessays, laterincluded inhisbook, thisprogramme wasthereinvention ofVicenzaas
Architectural Principles intheAgeofHumanism, a modelforanImperial Romancity - thatis,inhis
of the Ideal Villa
featured 11schematic drawings ofPalladio'svil- classicistterms, a newItaliancivilisation finally
laswhich Wittkower usedtoreinforce hisargu- liberated from theGoths. According toTrissino,
mentforreading Renaissance architecture in Andrea Palladio and the theascendancy oftheGothshadparalleled the
terms ofirreducible rulesorprinciples.1 These declineoftheRomanEmpire andItaly's descent
showedthatarchitectural artefacts Project of an Anti-Ideal City intopolitical andcultural chaos.Drawing inspira-
drawings
suchas Palladio'svillaswerenotmerely episodic tionfrom Trissino's classicist urbanideology,
formal studiesbutsystematic variations ofthe Palladio'searly designs as anarchitect include
samecompositional Architectural Pier Vittorio Aureli a classicalfacadefora seriesofcity housesanda
logic. princi-
pleswerethusimplicitly proposed as anintellec- proposal forthePalazzoCivena- austere, simple
tualframework forarchitectural form, superior to andthusrepeatable prototypes, ready tobedis-
thefunctional, programmatic or aesthetic goalsto seminated within thegothic fabric ofVicenza.5
whicharchitectural history was then still
bound. shedsandwereanessentialcompo- Thepalazzowasfusedwiththemoremodest
agricultural
Asa corecomponent ofarchitecture's nentofPalladio'svillas,providing notonlya merchant housetoform a newquasi-bourgeois
emerginghistoriography, Wittkower's reading senseofcontext buta semiotic distinction that domus. Thecentrality ofthehouseandthusof
ofRenaissance architecture quickly proved to allowedthesebuildings tobeclassified as villas secular domestic life,alongwiththesystematic
beinfluential farbeyond academichistorical rather thanpalaces.Thebarchesse ,inthissense, recovery of Roman architecture, provided the
scholarship. Within postwar reconstruction in arePalladio'sgeo-political context becausethey coreofPalladio'sattempt todefine a universal
for
England, example, projecthis established a as thekeymetonymical forthe formal grammar forthecity,
figure register
point ofreference for a generation of architects wholetypology. utPalladio'sfirst intellectual mentor
searching forformal legitimacy beyond thetech- Palladio'svillasthemselves werecommis- В waspolitically atoddswiththe
nocratic impetus of functionalist modernism. sionedatthehighpoint ofwidespread socialand Venetian republic. Trissino sawthefragmented
Inparticular, hisdrawings, reducing Palladian reforms advanced cityas a symptom ofthelarger political, cultural
economic bytheSerenissima
villastoproportional andspatialschemes, inthesixteenth andtheir andsocialfragmentation ofthenationafter the
Republic century, par-
offered thepossibility ofdefining a morepro- ticularformal - a central collapseoftheRomanEmpire. LikeDanteinDe
composition palace
foundrationality thancouldbeprovided Monarchia ,hecalledfora universal civicgovern-
simply flanked bytwobarns- isdeeply embedded in
bytechnology. Thiscommitment toseeingand thepolitical, socialandformal ofsuch ment, identifiable through thesingular figureof
impetus
interpreting a contemporary condition through reform. If,asJames Ackerman hasargued, the HolyRomanEmperor CharlesV.6Thisuniversal
a Renaissance precedent wasreinforced five villaisonethemostradically archi- government wastorepresent a newRoman
ideological
yearslater(andmoreradically still)byColin tectures becauseinclaiming Empire, a secularpowerfreefrom bothfeudal-
self-sufficiency
Rowe,whoseTheMathematics oftheIdealVilla within thecountryside ithidesitseconomic ismandecclesiastical authority. Fundamental to
famously established a comparison between onthecity, thenPalladio'spalace+ theseaspirations, thecityanditsarchitecture
dependency
Palladio'sVillaFoscariinMalcontenta and barchesse remained a keypriority, andsetagainstthe
composition openly signalsthevilla's
LeCorbusier's VillaSteininGarches.2 relation withitsregional andagricultural eco- gothicmedieval city, Trissino promoted Roman
Wittkower's impactona nomiccontext.3 Thisimmediately suggests an architecture as theappropriate languageforhis
wider, contemporary architectural alternative of Palladio's architec- political project.7 Thispromotion wasorganised
interpretation - evidenced
While discourse wasas unsuspecting as it turetotheonesadvanced as a kindofresearch programme by
byWittkower and
wasunintentional, Rowe'siconoclastic compar- Rowe.Thiscounter does not define theseriesoffourfield-trips Palladiomadewith
position
isonoftwovillas- onefrom thesixteenth cen- Palladio'srelevance tocontemporary discourse Trissino toRomeas exercises ingenerating form
tury, the other from the twentieth - seems to through first-hand experience. The careful study
interms ofproportion orthe'mathematics' ofits
havebeena deliberate attempt to interfere with architectural but readsthe villaas ofRomanantiquity wastheexpress goalofthis
composition,
thetrajectory ofpostwar architectural mod- oneelement within a larger, latent research, andthedrawings Palladiomadedur-
project.
ernism. Thisdesiretosubvert wasestablished Rather thantaking Palladio's'ideal'as a model ing these visits would become thesourcebookof
notonlybyhisargument forthecomparable foranequallyidealurbanconfiguration, itviews hisarchitectural grammar. isimportant
What
natureofRenaissance andmodern architec- thegeography andpolitics ofthevillaas a frame- tonotehereisPalladio'sdrawing method.
ture, but also his
by pointing to the possibility workforrethinking andre-theorising thesignifi- Influenced byRaphael's recommendations
ofa rigorous closereading ofarchitectural form canceofPalladio'sworkas a project foran aboutthedepiction ofancientruins, heavoids
independent of itshistorical circumstances. anti-ideal pictorial perspective and instead uses a flat
city.
Forthisreason,thevillasofPalladioandLe First, however, let'sdealwiththename, orthogonal technique anticipating modern con-
Corbusierwere deliberately extrapolated from ventions oforthogonal projection - a method
Palladio, bombastic andslightly ridiculous in
theirgeographical andpolitical context; Rowe itsoverloaded Thiswasthename thatcontributed enormously tohissystematic
pretention.
evenarguedthatthearchitects' lyricalsite conferred onAndrea dellaGondola whenhe approach to the architecture of thecity.8
descriptions celebrating their best-known villas wasalready inhis30s,having a long Architecture wasnotvisionary andpicturesque
- 'La Rotonda'andtheVillaSavoye completed
atPoissy- ina stonemason's butscientific, theproduct ofcarefully defined
apprenticeship workshop.
offered a tooeasypointofentry forcomparison. Themanwhonamedhim- theRenaissance rules.Thisfundamental distinction enabledthe
poet,
Inthisway,Rowe'stextreinforced Wittkower's humanist anddiplomat Trissino original form tobereconstructed outoftheruin,
Giangiorgio
radicaldenialofPalladio'ssite-specificity, emancipating itfrom itsreality as a fragment
apparent intheremoval ofthebarchesse inhis andgiving ita newstatusas a component ina
Opposite: plansof11ofPalladio's
Schematic villas,
schematic drawings ofthevillas.Theseadjoin- from
Rudolf Architectural
Wittkower, Principles potential imperial cityinVicenza, andlater
ingloggiaswereadaptedfrom localVenetian inthe
AgeofHumanism,
1949 acrosstheVeneto.

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 alladio'slasttriptoRomein1557pro- Vicenza, theVeneto countryside andtheVenice building wasabsorbedbyvarying thelength of
videdthematerial fortwobooks,one Lagoon- offered a multi-scalar array ofurbansit- thelintelwithout altering thearches.Thebuild-
ofthema guidetothecity's antiquities uationsinwhichhecouldtesttheseamlessness ingwasthusconceived as a didactic display of
thatwouldremainthestandard reference for ofanarchitectural language againsttheinex- theorders andtheir abilitytosupport, correct
touristsforthenexttwocenturies, theother orably fragmented nature ofa city. Thestrategic andmasktheexisting irregular gothicstructure.
a curiousguideforpilgrims thatdocumented linkbetween thetwoextremes - continuity and Moreover, hisrestructuring oftheBasilicaplaced
Rome'smanychurches.9 IfRomanantiquity discontinuity - isprecisely thecoredialectic of classicism attheheartofthecivicspaceofthe
offered thesourceforPalladio'suniversal archi- Palladio'surbandesignmethodology. as thehegemonic
city, anduniversal architec-
tecturalgrammar, themapping ofchurches - Inthesixteenth century Vicenzawasoneof turallanguage ofa long-desired civitas.
manyofthemlocatedinwhatwastheirtypically Italy'smostviolent cities.Infighting amongthe TheBasilica,likemanyotherPalladiobuild-
suburban andde-populated, fragmented mostimportant families andpolitical turmoil ings,wouldnotbecompleted during hislife-
context - enabledhimtopresent thecityas amongthepopulacemadeita theatre ofalmost time.Apermanent stateofinstability defined
anarchipelago ofmonuments. Thesefinite, perpetual mayhem andmurder.11 Thephysical bywars,economiccrises, disease and,more
autonomous artefacts carried a highly charged manifestations ofthisviolence alsounfolded spectacularly, the tormented vicissitudes of
ritualisticgeography, evenwhenpresented within a larger conflict involving thelocaloli- thefamilies forwhomPalladioworked, delayed
inisolation. ButPalladiowentbeyond thisby garchy, the colonial power of Venice andthe orprevented theirconstruction. Itiseasyto
ordering thedescriptions ofthechurches adversarial relationship between the church and imagine thata desiretocounteract thisflux
according tothepilgrim's peripatetic approach theVeneto(atthattime,VicenzawastheItalian wasthekeyimpulsebehindI Quattro Libri
tothecity. Inother words, theguidedoesnot epicentre ofCalvinist andheretical sensibili- dell'Architettura,which setsout all of hisprojects
describe thesechurches as monumental forms ties).Given this the
context, attempt byTrissino inorderandaccording tohisoriginal design,
removed from theircontext, butaddressesthem andPalladiotorecastVicenzaas a modelforan regardless ofalterations madeduring theircon-
within site-specific patterns ofanurbanitiner- imperial citythatevokedthePaxRomanaseems struction.TheFourBooks,inthissense,suggest
ary.In addition to his of
study antiquity, there- a very obviousanddeliberate provocation - or, theemancipation oftheideaofarchitecture
fore,Palladio's interest in a
compilingpilgrim's conversely, not so much a provocation as an from itsmaterial realisation. Confronted with
guideisofexceptional interest becauseitsigni- attempt tousetheunifying architectural lan- anunstableandcomplex environment, thelan-
fieshisfamiliarity withthegeographic symbol- guage of classicism to project a self-harmonis- guageofbuilding cannottamethecityinallits
ismofthecity. Anditisprecisely thisactof ingcivicsenseofcalm. manifestations, butcanonlyinsert exemplary
locating andmarking thatseemstounderpin ForPalladiothegrammar ofthisclassicism forms intoitsunstablebody.Aswithhisexperi-
Palladio'sability todefine thecitythrough layin his impeccable use of the fiveorders as a mentwiththetriumphal routeforCardinal
itsarchitecture. way tomake architecture intelligible as form, in Ridolfi,Palladio'sconfidence inthecityis
TheheroicmissionofTrissino andPalladio contrast totheirrational patterns of the medieval revealed bythewayhepositions a building, even
torecastVicenzaas a latter-day imperial city city.Thereisinthisallegiance aninteresting par- ifheneverproposedanyidealurbanscheme.
wasprompted, somewhat moreprosaically, by allelbetween Palladio'ssystematic useofthe Thearchitectural historian FrancoBarbieri has
a fleetingcelebration ofreligious authority: the fiveorders andTrissino's political vision, based suggested thatalthough Palladioneverpredeter-
entrance ofCardinal Ridolfi tothecityin1543. ontheideaofa unifying seculargovernment. minedthesiteofhisprojects, thelocationofhis
Forthisoccasion,Palladiodesigned a sequence Trissino (everthepoetanddiplomat) wasespe- buildings seemstofollow theRomanstreet lay-
oftemporary markers todelineate thecardinal's ciallyconcerned withthereform oftheItalian outthatwasstilllegibleinmedieval Vicenza
procession towards thecathedral. Twoofthe language, as evidenced byhisletter toPope (andthatremains legibletoday- theintersec-
mostexemplary urbanlandmarks oftheRoman Clemente VIIabouttheurgent needtoaddress tionofa north-south cardoaxisandaneast-west
city- thetriumphal archandtheobelisk- sym- vernacular orcolloquialItalian, andbyhistrans- decumanus isprovided bytheCorsoPalladioand
bolisedtheveritable analogouscity generated by lationofDante'sDeVulgariEloquentia. Inmany theroutethatgoesfrom theruinsoftheRoman
thiscircuit, andwereconsidered byPalladioas ways, Trissino's interest intheideaofgrammar Bergatheatre tothePusterla Bridge ontheriver
idealandinstant devicesforurbanreinvention, as a meta-historical political toolcanbeseen Bacchiglione).12 Trissino's Utopian visionfor
radicallytransforming thegothicform ofthecity as theinspiration forPalladio'ssystematic Vicenzaas a Romancitythusseemstoemerge
intoa classicallandscape.10 Thethemeofthetri- approach toarchitecture, whereclassicism is from Palladio'sinsistence onthislayout as the
umphalprocession alsohighlights thecityas a usednotsimply as a meansofrepresentation ordering principle ofhis interventions.
contested fieldofdirections tobemappedand andauthority butalsoas anordered setofrepeat- follow thishypothesis diachronically,
manipulated bya seriesofpunctual interven- ableelements whoseinfluence couldextend wefindalongthedecumanus thehighly
tions.Palladio'sapproachtothecity, then,as his beyond theconstruction ofbuildings toembrace Xfweabstract forms ofthePalazzoChiericati
temporary installation forVicenzamakesclear, thewholemanifestation ofthecityitself. Inorder (1550),thesophisticated facadeoftheCasa
isbasednotonanoverall urbanplanbuton tobeestablished, however,grammar on
a relies Cagollo(1559-62), and the PalazzoPojana
thestrong formal continuity anduniversalism clearexamples. ItisnotbychancethatPalladio's (1560-61).Nearby was the site ofanunbuilt
evokedbyhisclassicalreferences. Yet,incon- debutas anindependent architect, under project forthe Palazzo Capra(1563-64)and,
trasttotheRomancitymodel,Palladio'suniver- Trissino's mentorship, resulted in a design attheendofthedecumanus ,directly opposite
salismisdefined bytheconcrete figure of forthemostimportant publicmonument in thePalazzoChiericati, another PalazzoCapra.
architecture as a clearly circumscribed artefact, Vicenza:thecompletion ofthePalazzodella Following theperpendicular cardus ,westart at
distinct from thevoidground ofthecityspaces Ragione, avastcivichallbuiltinthefifteenth cen- theruinsoftheBergatheatre (itself a strategic
surrounding it. tury, and renamed (significantly) by Palladio as precedent forTrissino andPalladiointheir
Palladio'smapping ofRomanchurches, the'Basilica'.Palladio'sintervention wasnoth- visionofresurrecting Vicenza'slatentRoman
therefore, and his processional installation ing more than a lintel-arch-lintel device, stacking plan)andthenpassthebridgeofSanPaolo
forVicenza, reflectshismastery oftheprogram- twoserliane orders builtinwhitestone,sothat (whichinthesixteenth century wasbelieved to
mingof architectural sequences. Thevariety they wrapped theexisting hallandshopsunder- beanother Romanstructure), before arriving at
ofcontexts inwhichheoperated - thecityof neath.Theirregular structure oftheexisting theloggiasoftheBasilicaandthedelCapitano

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attheintersection withthedecumanus. The Itisprecisely Palladio'smastering ofthe organisation - a sequenceofmonumental
cardus wouldthenleadustotwoofPalladio's dialectic between continuity anddiscontinuity spacesjuxtaposed alongaxesofsymmetry - lent
mostimpressive -
buildingsthePalazzo thattheatrically emphasises the urban roleof hiscountryside villas a quintessential^ metro-
MontanoBarbarano (1569-70)andthePalazzo hisbuildings as civicactorswithin Vicenza's politanair.Inmany ways, thetheatrical spatial
Porto(1549).Finally, wewouldendupatthe analogouscity - a dialectic alsoperfectly complexity of the Roman bath offered anindoor
CasaBernardo Schio(1565-66).Following the depicted byCanaletto inhisownanalogous miniaturised city. Itisthuspossibletospeculate
streetsthatrunparalleltothecardo,towards the cityintheform ofthepainting hemadeofthe thatPalladio'sappropriation oftheimperial
eastwewouldfindthePalazzoDa Monte(1541- bridge of the Rialto, composed with two other bath and the pediment (taken from themodel
45),Palazzo Thiene a
(1542-46), project for a from
buildings Vicenza, the Palazzo Chiericati ofthe religious building, with the impliedargu-
palazzoforGiacomoAngarano (1564)anda andtheBasilica.Rather thantheactualbridge, mentthattemples andhousessharethesame
fragment ofthePalazzoPojana(1555).Similarly, Canaletto showsthebridgeas designed by origin), andtheconflation ofthesetypologies
following the streets that run parallel to the Palladio and presented in his Quattro Libri. with an agricultural context, ispartofa strategy
decumanus ,onthenorth wewouldfindprojects Theseforms areinterpreted by Canaletto in all that goes beyond erudite references toRoman
forthePalazzoTrissino (1558)anda palazzofor theirparadigmatic integrity and yet disposable, classicism and the accommodation of themate-
Giambattista Garzadori, along with other minor tobe used and combined according to unpre- rialdemands of the estate. Instead, it seems to
butsignificant workssuchas Palladio'syouthful dictableurbaninventions. havemoretodowiththeideaoffiguring the
interventions atthePedemuro workshop with Morethanhisbridges andpalazzos,however, ground as anassemblage ofmetropolitan struc-
theChurch ofSantaMariainForo(1531)andthe itisthevillasintheVeneto region forwhich tureswherethepolitical andeconomic powerof
city'scathedral (1534-36).Collectively, these Palladioismostcelebrated. Whatisimpressive theVenetian archipelago (untilthenconstituted
interventions canbe summarised as themedia- aboutthesebuildings isnotsomuchtheir archi- bythesea)isprojected analogically - thatis,
tionbetween twooppositeforces whichconsti- tectural quality as their quantity. Withtheexcep- viatheexampleofimperial -
Rome towards
tutethetwomajoringredients ofallofPalladio's tionperhaps ofFrank Lloyd Wright, noother theVenetocountryside. Itisprecisely thiscom-
projects: ontheonehandanabstraction ofthe architect hasoffered a portfolio filled withdesigns plexofanalogicalappropriations thatmade
orders, proportion andsymmetry, andonthe ofsuchimpressive continuity. Thefashion forvil- Palladio'sarchitecture so successful andinflu-
othera site-specificity, witheachbuilding being las,a patrician typology of theRoman Empire, was ential as an urban model.
carefully inserted intothetight andcomplex revived inthefifteenth andsixteenth centuries.14 Underlying allofPalladio'sarchitectural
medieval fabric ofthe city. In a rural its
economy, reappearance marked the output was the biggest crisisthenfacing the
project that most fully articulates transition from feudalism tothe economic power Serenissima Republic. Founded some time dur-
thismediation isthePalazzo oftheestate, andfuelled this
by succession, ing the first decades of the eighth century and
The Chiericati. Strategically locatedon Palladioassigned thevillaa position ofexcep- developed as a mercantile city-state,economic
theedgeoftheIsola(thebeginning ofthe tionalimportance inhisQuattro Libri:five chap- transaction, in the form of maritime commerce,
decumanus andthusatthecitygateapproaching tersoftheSecondBookaredevoted tothe hadbeenVenice'sraisond'être. Throughout its
from PaduaandVenice), themainfacadeofthe architectural principles of thistype, which is early history, this trade was bolstered not onlyby
palazzoconsistsoftwosuperimposed loggias treated withthesameattention todetailas other thecity-state's geographical position attheedge
powerfully framed bytheorders.Butwhatis crucial city types suchas palacesandreligious oftheAdriatic andthedefeat ofothermaritime
moststriking aboutthisdesignisthatforthe buildings. By the time the Quattro Libriwas pub- republics such as Genoa, but also bytheinflu-
firsttimeintheRenaissance thecomposition lishedPalladiohadalready designed a largenum- enceoftheByzantine Empire, whichhelpedto
ofthefacadeis rigorously projected intothe berofvillas, andtheserialnature ofthesolutions establish Veniceas a privileged economic hub
interior.Theelevation thusbecomesa veritable hedeveloped (akintotherepeating ruleshe linking theMediterranean basinwithcommer-
indexoftheworkings oftheplanandsection. employed inhispalacesinVicenzaandchurches cialroutestowards theeast.However, Venice's
Atthesametime,thespaceontowhichthis inVenice) allowedhimtodefine a consistent for- impetuous risecameabruptly toanendwithtwo
Utopian architectural languageisprojectedis mallexicon. Although madeupofvery fewprinci- majorevents. Thefirst wastheWaroftheLeague
farfrom ideal- theloggiaisdirectly atoddswith ples,thislanguage wasvery strictinitsapplication ofCambrai(1508-1516), whenthemostimpor-
thenarrow andlongform ofthesite,derived - notably, a clearsymmetry ofplan,anabundance tantEuropeansuperpowers - PopeJulius 11,
inturnfrom thecity'scomplex topography. ofloggiasintheform ofbelvederes andbarns, the Emperor Maximilian 1andKingLouisxii of
Forcing thebuilding tofitintoitsunlikely site unconventional useofpediments and(Palladio's France- unitedagainsttheSerenissima inorder
generated anunprecedented compression in moststriking typological cross-contamination for tolimit its land expansion. The second decisive
theplan,whichreadsas a kindofsixteenth-cen- rural buildings) thereinterpretation ofthespatial event, whoseconsequences wouldonlyslowly
tury barcode, with its of
sequence compressed intricacy imperial of the Roman bath within the become apparent over the course ofthesix-
versions ofatria,internal loggia and a garden.^ interior of the villa's central building. teenth century, was the discoverytheNew
of
Moreover, within this logic, the facade's classi- number of historians have addressed World and the consequent shiftofmajormar-
calform may be understood as a clear political Palladio's mixing ofclassical and itime traffic from east to west.
manoeuvre. Expanding thebuilding's trans- A vernacular elements andhisvilla Confronted withthiscrisis, theoligarchy
versesectionbyonlya fewmetres, theloggia typology as both a retreat and an economically ofthe Serenissima became convinced thatthey
a
occupies portion ofthe Isola, not onlycreating and culturally productive ruralhub. Much, too, were about to enter a period of decline. Whatis
a noblepublicgesture inoneofthecity'smost hasbeenwritten abouthisuseofthepediment interesting abouttheirresponse, though, isthat
civic
important spaces, but also projecting a which, but for one exception, had previously they accepted the prospect oftheir diminishing
highly formal grammar. Thepeculiarities ofthe beenconfined toreligious buildings.15 fortune and,rather thanseeking toreverse what
site(theexception) andthegenerative principle Significantly less,however, hasbeensaidabout seemedinevitable, theydidsomething politi-
ofthebuilding (therule)arethusintrinsically howtheinterior spaceofPalladio'svillasappro- callyandconceptually farmoreradical:they
linkedandmutually reinforced, producing a priated thespatiality oftheimperial bathswhich attempted toslowdownthedecline,sothat
paradoxical combination offormal abstraction heobsessively mapped,drewandreconstructed insteadofprecipitating a suddencollapse,the
andradicalsite-specificity. during hisfield-trips toRome,andwhose republic's waninginfluence couldbetamed

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 Andrea VillaEmo,Fanzolo,
Palladio, 1556,
I Quattro
from Libridell'Architettura
,1570

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andgoverned as a Utopian condition of'dura- newlinguafranca ofciviclife,andtheatrical similarity totheVillaPisaniinMontagnana). And
tion'.16
Theirresponseconsisted ofa complex framing ofthegarden whichmadetheloggia yetattheRotonda theunity ofcity andcountry-
seriesofstrategic manoeuvres, allofthempredi- boththescenery andthespectator's tribune. sideisfurther radicalised, as ifthebuilding were
catedona shift ofVenice'seconomicbasisfrom Thiscompositional dialectic between subject somekindofmanifesto. Situated ona hilltop just
theseatotheland;from maritime commerce andobject, between a pointofviewanda space outside Vicenza, thevillawasclearly designed as
toagriculture. Within thistransfer, theground framed within it,wouldbethebasisofPalladio's anideal'observatory' towards thelandscape(a
orterrafirmasuddenly tookonthestatusofa ownuniqueapproach tolandscape. Inallofhis conceptual andiconoclastic programme revealed
territorialproject - onethatincludedlandrecla- work, theencircling territory isnota passive bythelongdescription ofthesitethatprefaces
mation, cartographic mapping andthehydro- ground tobeactivated bytheimposition ofa fig- thisproject intheQuattro Libri). Thevastness
logicalcontrol ofthenetwork ofrivers that ure,buta specific sitemadeofexisting natural andvariety ofthislandscapeisexemplified inthe
descendeddownintoVenicefrom highinthe andartificial elements ofwhich theobject- the form andpeculiar composition of the villa
itself:
Alps.17Andso,rather thanprojecting itselfsolely -
villa becomes a theatrical frame. Inthissense, a rathersmallbuilding withfour hugeporticos
towards theseaas a statodelmar,Veniceturned Palladio's villasarenotsimply objectsenclosed madeupofcolonnades, pediments andramps.
inwards, towards itsterritorial lands- a (redis- within a reconstructed context (think oftheMedici Asiswelldocumented, thisunusualform fora
covery of its more earthly influence thatmust villasintheFlorentine hillsorPirro Ligorio's Villa housewasinspired by Palladio's own reconstruc-
beseenas thedefining context forPalladio's but
d'Este), specific objects that frame and rede- tionofthetemple atthetopoftheSanctuary of
unprecedented succession ofcountryside finetheexisting landscape as aneconomic, Fortuna in
PrimigeniaPalestrina, a monumental
each
villas, commissioned bypatricians ofthe cultural andpolitical counter tothecity. complex Palladiovisited whileinRome.Yetwith
Serenissma regime, and which would ultimately Let'stakea lookattwoofPalladio'sbetter theRotonda, themonumentality anddepthofthe
giveVenice's project ofduration itsmostendur- known villas.TheVillaEmoinFanzolo(1556)is villa'sporticos as
appear exaggerated againstthe
inghistorical form. scaleoftheactualbuilding - a contrast which
perhapsthebuilding thatbestshowstheradical-
somekindoftheoretical legiti- ismofPalladio'sapproach totherelationship suggests thatrather thanbeinggrandentrance-
macytothisshift from seatolandwere between thevillaanditsimmediate landscape. waysintothevilla,they areactually orientated
Offering theideasofthetheorist andpatron of Itishissimplest andmostobviously minimal outwards, towards thesurrounding countryside.
theartsAlvise Cornaro (1484-1566), whoargued, villaandyetitsstructure, likealltheothers, is Inother words, theporticos actmoreliketheatres
inparticular, forthepromotion ofagriculture as basedaroundtheclearjuxtaposition ofthecasa fora spectacle thatpre-dates thebuilding: the
analternative toVenice'sexisting mercantilist dominicale (palace)withtheflanking barchesse landscapeallaround. Ifwefollow thisreading,
economy. Author ofLa VitaSobria ,a treatiseon (barns), whichserved as storage andas a covered thentheclassicalviewofPalladio'sRotonda as
thevirtue ofliving inthecountryside, Cornaro gallery passagebetween thecentral bodyand a pyramidal composition inwhichthebuilding
wasoneofthemostactivepolitical thinkers dur- thesymmetrical colombare alongitstwosides. forms thepinnacle ofthehillissubverted, ifnot
ingtheVeneto' s economic crisis.Hisideaslargely Unlikehisothervillas, however, thisjuxtaposi- inverted, bythefactthatthediagram ofthevilla
concerned thereclamation ofland,andthepro- tionisrevealed alongthesamefrontal plane,a isnotabouta conventional architectural relation-
motion ofagriculture overtradeas thebasisfora devicethataccentuates theVillaEmo'sperpen- ship in which the outside isdrawn towards the
moresolidrelationship between powerandterri- dicularity againstthehorizontality ofthesur- insidebutoftheinsidealways projecting out.
Before
tory.18 Cornaro, country life(ofwhichthe rounding Veneto plains.Initssimplicity, thevilla Theformal symmetry ofthebuilding isthusan
villawasthemostidealisedform) wastypically heightens theimportance ofdirecting theland- indexoftheRotonda's territorial site-specificity.
understood as radically anti-political becauseit scape,notbyimposing onita new,meticulously Moreover, thefactthatthebuilding's symmetry
turned itsbackonthepolitical spaceparexcel- regulated ground arrangement, butbyfiguring it required allfoursidestohavea portico, andthat
the After
lence, city. Cornaro, however, thisimage the
through simple act of framing. Palladio does abovethemPalladioplacesa dome(thefirst time
wassubverted: rather thanbeingpredicated on thisbydeveloping onesideofthevillaas a con- sucha detailwasusedina residential building)
thefundamentally apolitical ideas of disinterest tinuousrowofloggiasandtheothersideas a row conveys nota unidirectional aspectbuta round-
anddenial,thecountryside becamehighly politi- ofwindows, thereby establishing, ina very pow- nessthatsuggests ananalogy withtheinfinity
cisedbyitspromotion ofa newformal modeland erful the
way, experience of front and backwithin ofthelandscapeoutside. Theresult isthatthe
itsexplicit rejection oftheexisting one- Venice. thevastness ofthebuilding's landscape. Rotonda subverts notonlyarchitectural conven-
Torepresent hisvisionofa civiclife,Cornaro WiththeVillaEmowesee,onceagain,the tion,withitsinversion ofthedominance ofthe
builthisownanalogouscity inthecountryside classicPalladianparadoxofa building thathas building overitssite,butalsotheconventions of
nearPadua,Palladio'sbirthplace. Inthe1520s, beendesigned according toitsowncomposi- Renaissance dramaandtherigidities ofprosce-
hecommissioned thePaduanpainter Giovanni tionallogic(typically basedonsymmetry), yetat niumfront-to-back projection. Fundamentally,
BattistaFalconetto toproduce a gardenloggia, thesametimeisalsoinflected so as toreacttoits then,thebuilding isas radicaltheatrically as
anda yearlateranodeonwasbuiltnexttoitto specific sitecondition. Thisparadoxisfurther itisarchitecturally.
hosttheperformances ofa famous localdialect radicalised inPalladio'smostfamous(andmost ltimately, andtoa certain extent,
actorAngelo Beolco(better knowbyhispseudo- bizarre) building, theVillaCapraorLa Rotonda H I naturally, itwasinVenicethat
nym, Ruzzante). InCornaro's garden, therefore, (1567).IntheQuattro Libri, thisvillaisincluded Palladiofinally seemedabletosatisfy
itispossibletoseeanattempt toelevate therustic inthesectiondedicated tourbanpalaces,an hisproject ofthecity. Hisbuildings constructed
countryside tothelevelofa new,cultivated civic aspirational characterisation thatfurther reveals there, mostly churches, canallbeseenagainst
condition - onethatlaybeyond thecity's monu- Palladio'sattempt totransform a building in thebackdrop ofVenice'seconomic, geographic
mentalspacesbuthada competing measure of thecountryside intoa veritable civicform.19 andpolitical crisis,butmoreimmediately they
culturalandsocialcharisma. Falconetto's loggia Theequationofcity andcountryside in relatetotwosignificant proposalsforrestructur-
- thefirstexample intheVeneto ofarchitecture à Palladioisalready visibleinthevery obvious for- ingandpreserving thecityinthewakeofthe
laRomana - wasclearly builtas a highly symbolic malsimilarities between hisrural villasandcivic Serenissima demise.Thefirst wasa project
prototype, anexample. Itskeyfeature isthefor- palaces(butfortheabsenceofthebarns, the initiated by Cristoforo Sabbadino (1489-1543),
malthemeoftheloggiaitself, withitsgenerous palaces are the same as the villas - for example, Venice'sfirst andmostillustrious hydraulic
openings, didactic exposition oftheorders as a thePalazzoAntolini inUdinebearsa striking engineer, whobegantodevelopthecity's

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borders intheform ofa ringofwaterfront theatre, imagined as a placeofpublicspectacle, Visually pronounced, then,notsimply bytheir
-
fondamentalarge embankments thatwould andthus,likethearchipelago oftrees, conceived removal totheedgebutalsobytheirstriking
encloseanddefine Venice's forma urbis (the as a pieceofsocialinfrastructure, emphasised whitestoneelevations, Palladio'schurches - in
Fondamenta NuoveandFondamenta Zattere, theperformative character oftheentire project. particular the San Giorgio Maggiore, Redentore
twoofthecity's mostsuggestive sites,stillvisible Within thecontext oftheSerenissima Republic, andZitelle- alsoradiated theirdifference
today, were the result of this proposal). For thetheatre wasthemostpopularformal register through theirforeground, theopenGiudecca
Sabbadino, thisringwasnotonlya functional ofsomekindofintrinsic, collective artofmem- canalorbasin.IfthepalacesinVicenzaarestill
element anda necessary limittothecity, but ory, whichmadeitthemosteffective formal flanked bytheexisting medieval fabric, andif
alsoa newmonumental space that ifrealised for
typology staging broader political andcul- thevillasacrosstheVenetoaremediated byver-
initsentirety wouldhaveopenedupthecity turalideas.Whatisinteresting tonotehereis nacularelements suchas thebarchesse ,then it
towards thevastness oftheLagoon.20 thatCornaro's theatre onwater wasimagined isonlyinVenice- through thewideopenexpan-
secondvision,culturally morecom- according tothe precepts ofVitruvius's ancient sivenessoftheVenetian Lagoonandtheloaded
plexandsophisticated, wasanelabo- Romantheatre as reconstructed byDaniele neither-sea-nor-land archetype ofthearchipel-
The rationbyAlvise Cornaro oftheconcept Barbaro inhis1556editionofDeArchitectura - ago- thatPalladiowasabletoestablish his
ofthetheatre hehadconstructed inhisgarden aneditionillustrated byPalladio.Thusanisland architecture as anabsolutegeo-political form.
inPadua.LikeSabbadino, Cornaro aimedtosyn- (Venice's defining urbanform) intheform ofa theend,inordertofully understand
thesisetwoapparently contradictory forces by theatre (theclassicaltype parexcellence) offered Palladio'sanalogical Veniceweneedto
openingthecitytowards theLagoonwhileatthe thecentrepiece ofCornaro's territorialproject Ïn gobacktohisearliest failedassaulton
sametimeinsisting ona clearly defined urban forVenice, andmadeexplicit precisely whatwas thecity andthefirst oftwoproposals hemade
edge.Theproject itselfwasarticulated intwo alsoatthecoreofPalladio'sanalogical language: fora newRialtoBridge (1556).Inthisproject
parts.Thefirst consisted ofa man-made groveof theUtopian andtimeless abstraction ofarchitec- Palladioprogrammatically established an
treesplantedona linearisland,builtintheform ture,anditsability toevokepotential oreven approach tothecity thatisanything butclassical.
ofa floating city-wall.Thiswoodedisthmus was pregnant geographic andpolitical scenarios. Thebridge - a central themeofRomanurbanism
proposednotjustas a defence system, offering Thedifference between Sabbadino'surbanproj- whereinfrastructure andmonument areindis-
protection from military attacks andtheforces ectandCornaro's visionisthatwhileSabbadino solubly linked- isconceived hereas a civichub
ofthesea,butas socialinfrastructure forthecity aimedattheconsolidation oftheexisting city, madeupoftwoparallelrowsofshopsspanning
- ineffect a gigantic The
park. project's second Cornaro imagined a new Venice thatradically theGrandCanal.Oneither side,twoidentical,
part focused on the most strategic and monu- invested architecture bystressing theanalogy gigantic squares frame the approaches tothe
mentalpointinthecity: thebasinofSanMarco, between thesingularity ofthearchitectural arte- bridge, enclosed an
by uninterrupted columned
thevastandmonumental spacetriangulated by factandtheinsularity ofthecityform. gallery.Though onlyeverillustrated inplan,the
thePiazzetta ofSanMarco,thePuntadella Bothprojects, however, wereunitedinintro- form ofthisproject isimpressive. Andaswith
DoganaandtheislandofSanGiorgio Maggiore. ducing an urban theme that iskeytoPalladio's everything Palladioproduced, itshouldbeseen
Within thisspaceCornaro imagined another tri- monumental interventions inVenice.Thisisthe notinvacuobutinrelation tothetight andintri-
- a
angulation floating theatre à la Romana) an ideaoftheurbanedgenotjustas cityform but categothic fabric ofthecity - ofabsolutespace
artificialislandintheform ofa 'shapelesslittle as a newmonumental spacelinking cityto
the miraculously emerging outoftheexisting dark,
hill',builtoutofthemudextracted from the itsterritorial context: inthiscase,theLagoon. labyrinthine citystructure.
city'scanals,plantedwithtreesandtoppedwith Inotherwords, thereisa linkbetween theidea Inthesecondversion oftheproject- theone
a loggia;anda spring-water fountain setonthe oftheedge,as introduced bytheprojects of published intheQuattro Libriandpainted by
edgeofthepiazzetta, right between thetwo bothSabbadinoandCornaro, andthephysical Canaletto - Palladiofocused onlyonthebridge.
monumental columnsfeaturing Venice'stwin locationofallofPalladio'sVenetian buildings. Atitscentre heplaceda classicalsquareframed
patrons, thelionofStMarkandthestatueofSt Ofcourse,Palladioneveractively chosethesite bytwosymmetrical colonnaded porticos. The
TeodoroofAmasea, whichframed theviewof foranyoftheseprojects (thatalways wentwith squareandtheporticos areflanked bytheshops.
thebasinfrom StMark'sSquare.Therationale thecommission), butinretrospect itisimpossi- Bymoving thethemeofthesquarefrom the
(and,as Manfredo Tafuri hasnoted,powerful blenottoseethatnearly allofhisinterventions entrances tothecentre ofthespan,Palladio
ideological resonances21) behindthiscomposi- inVeniceweresituated ontheedgeofthe transformed thebridge intoa forum, a micro-
tionseemstohavebeenbasedaroundtheidea city- forexample, thefacadeforSanPietrodi cosmdialectically linkedtothecity byvirtue of
ofintroducing a territorial condition into Castello(1559),thefacadeoftheChurch ofSan itsradicalautonomy as a city within thecity. The
Venice'slargely aquaticuniverse. Yetwhatis Francesco allaVigna(1564-65),theChurch and analogical motive oftheRialtoBridge - as Tafuri
interesting aboutthisinsertion isthatitisfor- Monastery ofSanGiorgio Maggiore (1560-65), -
oncenoted istheradicalcontrast thatPalladio
malisednotbydestroying Venice'sinsularity, theChurch oftheRedentore (1592)andthe established between thestatic, somewhat sober
butbytheatrically emphasising thesilhouette Church oftheZitelle(1574).Asmuchas their character oftheforum/square (theelevation of
oftheLagoonas anarchipelago. occupation oftheperiphery, alloftheseprojects which wasdesigned intheform ofa temple,
TheschemesofbothSabbadinoand alsosharethesameformal language, andabove toppedbya pediment), andtheeveryday hustle
Cornaro weredesigned toexpandthecity alla commonlexiconforthefacade:anaustere andbustleofthecanalactivities below- a con-
beyond the limits of itstraditional monumental andhieratic classicism madebytherigorous trast perfectlycaptured inCanaletto's painting.
spaces, until then iconographically controlled useoftheorders; thesuperimposition of According to thisanalogy, Palladio'sbridge acts
bythePiazzaSanMarco.Elements ofCornaro's facades(a technique invented by Palladio but as a frame forVenice's constituent elements -
urbanvision- notably thefreshwater spring clearly both
inspired by Bramante and by a 'mental montage', as Tafuri described it,that
andthelinearwoodedglade- werealsoclearly Vitruvius's description oftheFanoBasilica); defines Palladio'sapproach tothecity.22 Tafuri
meanttointroduce, analogically, thetheme and,mostobviously, bytheunprecedented use wentontoarguethat'theUtopian character of
ofagriculture andlandmanagement intoa ofPietrad'Istria ,a whitestonethatrenders the theRialtoproject seemstohavebeengenerated
citythathadpreviously developed onlythrough buildings inmarked contrast tothevernacular bya designprinciple thattransformed thecity
itsmaritime economy. Moreover, theisland brick,plasterandwoodcoloursofthecity. intoa territory.Inthiscity-territory theheroic

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imageofarchitecture entered thecity intheform prompted philospophers andlaterarchitects to alladio,likeBramante, lookedtothe
offinite parts, ofpointsthatdefined thecity, with- retrace thelegacy ofantiquity as a modelforthe ancientmonuments ofRomenotsim-
outreducing ittoanall-encompassed form'.23 newcity. Vitruvius's DeArchitectura, rediscov- plyas sourcesforthecorrect interpre-
Itisprecisely thisnowcharacteristically eredinthefifteenth century, wasanemblemof tationoftheorders, butas complex organisms
modern dialectic between theabsoluteness of thishistoricism, andsupported notonlyaneru- thatinthemselves reproduced thericharchitec-
architecture andtheopennessofthecity that diteantiquarianism buta treatise oncityman- turalqualitiesofa city. Itwasforthisreasonthat
Palladio'suniquearchitectural approach sought agement covering all scales of the urban project heso carefully studiedthemodeloftheRoman
toestablish. Usingforms andtypologies toeffect from thedesignofhousestowarfare. bath, an urban typeheplannedtodevoteone
contextual relationships andpolitical visions, Itwasinthiscontext thatfigures such wholebooktoinhis(unfinished) architectural
hefundamentally not
re-imagined only physi- the as Alberti,Francesco di Giorgio and Filarete treatise. ForPalladiothebathhouse wasa
calmanifestation ofthecity butitsvery idea. expandedtheremit ofthearchitect from build- uniquepublic structure because unlike temples
Significantly, however, unlike most other key the- ings tothe design of entire cities.Subsequently, orbasilicasitgrouped together multiple pro-
oristsofarchitecture - suchasVitruvius, Alberti, theimageoftheidealcityas oneorderly con- grammes andactivities, lending itanintricacy
Filarete orSerlio- Palladionever produced a ceived according to a rational plan,appears through itssequenceofdifferent spaces.This
comprehensive theory, planorevena general inmanyfifteenth-century paintings, precisely samespatiality isoften evokedinPalladio'svil-
viewofthecity. Inspiteofthefactthathisarchi- reflecting thepoliticalimmediacy ofurban las,palacesandchurches. Think, forexample,
tecture, aswehaveseen,takestheform ofrepeat- design.AnditisherethattheRenaissance oftheinteriors oftheRedentore orSanGiorgio
ableprototypes, hisprojects arealways rigorously invention ofperspective clearly resonates Maggiore, theforms ofwhicharetheresult of
site-specific. Theeffect istoplacePalladioout- becauseitdemonstrated thepossibility of radically different spatialmodels,eachdevel-
sideoneofthetopicsthrough whicharchitecturalreducing thespaceofthecitytothemanageable opedaccording totheirownautonomous
culture inthefifteenth andsixteenth centuries logicofcalculation andthemapping andorgan- geometries andlinkedtogether onlybythesym-
isrepeatedly defined - the'idealcity'. isationofspatialandgeographical facts.But metry andcontinuity oftheorders. Orconsider
Inthepopularimagination, idealcitiesare foralltheperspectivai idealismexemplified thetwoextraordinary projects forpalacesin
thoserationally planned, perfectly harmonious byarchitects likeSebastianoSerlio,Italyinthe Venice, published intheSecondBook,whose
Renaissance municipalities whosestructure and fifteenth andsixteenth centuries wasinreality plansdeveloparoundtheelucidation ofa suc-
imagereflected therediscovery ofhumanist val- so politicallyfragmented andunstablethat cessionofspaces,thesequenceofwhichisnot
ueswithin a culture ofciviccoexistence. Butin anoverall planning ofitscitiesaccording to simply reducible tothetraditional tripartite
ordertoeffectively understand howtheradical- rational criteriawasquiteimpossible. Those Renaissance palazzoatrium orcourtyard.25
ismofPalladio'sproject forthecitysubverted Italiancitiesthatdoappearas 'ideal'(townslike Thesameminiaturisation ofcityspaceinto
thisimage,theconventional interpretation PienzainTuscany orVigevano inLombardy) are compound architectural artefacts alsopushed
needstobeexposed. Whatistraditionally infactfairly restricted spacesenveloped by a PalladiointheQuattro Libritoreconstruct Greek
referred toas an'idealcity'isinfacta complex of medieval urbanfabric. Interestingly, thisisalso andLatinsquares(following Vitruvius's descrip-
theories, projects andactionsfora citydesigned thecasewithRome,a citylongpredicated on tion),as modelsfora variety ofcolonnaded
according to rational and scientifically intelligi- a chaotic and somewhat haphazard model of indoorandoutdoor spaces.Becauseoftheir
blecriteria. Itsorigin datesbacktoGraeco- urbangrowth. the
Although city'spapacy in association withtheforums ofancientRome,
Romantimesandthefounding ofexnovo thefifteenth andsixteenth centuries attempted porticos made by colonnades becamethedefini-
settlements to
according repeatable principles to reconstruct Rome in accordance withits tivearchitectural in
response framing open,
independent from thecontext inwhichthey were ancientsplendour, suchplansmaterialised only publiccivicspace.Within thisanalogicalcon-
tobeapplied.Theseprinciples, often underthe intheform ofsmallinterventions withtheexist- text,as wehaveseeninthePalazzoChiericati,
umbrella ofa singular urbanlayout, aimedto inginfrastructure. Forexample, Bramante's theBasilicaorthePalazzoCivena, Palladio
moreeffectively linktheinternal socialmanage- implementation ofPopeJulius11's visionfor wouldoften introduce a ground-floor portico,
mentofa city withitsdefence againstoutside Romeas animperial city was(partially) realised, thereby instantly transforming thebuilding
enemy forces. Mediating between theancient notintheform ofanoverall plan,butas a strate- from a simple,self-standing objecttoanentity
Greekoikos(household) andpolis(city-state), the gicpositioning oflarge-scale architectural arte- thatsymbolically resonated withallofthefor-
idealismofthecity therefore incorporated every- factsconnected bya network ofstraight streets. malattributes ofthecityaroundit.Byincorpo-
thing from theprivate spaceofthefamily house Giventhelimited scopeoftheseinterventions, rating publicspaces,thesebuildings werenot
tothemilitarisation ofthecity-state.24 architects likeBramante tendedtooverload the simply outstanding examples ofarchitecture,
thefalloftheRomanEmpire metonymical andmicrocosmic resonances of butexemplars ofanarchitectural relationship
in476ce, however, thereensued individual buildings inanarchitectural organ- tothecity. Itisthisexplicit willtoidealisethat
With inEuropea paralysis intheevolu- ismwhoseformal andspatialcomposition (via madePalladio'scollective seriesofbuildings
tionofthecitythatlastedright through tothe theuseofporticos, squares,forums, villasand theabsoluteembodiment ofa project forthe
eleventh century, as settlements tooktheform basilicas)exudedtheexemplary characteristics Yet
city. the impact of these examples should
of
only small, self-sufficient citadels or fortress of ancient cities. for
Consider, example, his notbeviewedsimply interms oftheirrolein
cities,diagrams almost of thepolitics of feudal- Belvedere in the Vatican, where the model establishing an architectural pattern book(a
ism.Thefeudalmodel,ofcourse,proved tobe ofanancientvilla- withexplicit references subservience totypeandform thathasmade
as economically unsustainable as itwasarchi- totheSanctuary ofFortuna Primigenia in Palladiooneofthemostcopiedarchitects in
tecturally unnavigable, and itwas against this Palestrina - is translated intoa massive, self- thehistory ofthediscipline). Instead, Palladio's
modelthatthecityas civitas wasrediscovered contained courtyard building. Through overly portfolio ismorepowerfully influential within
as thefundamental structure forhumancoexis- symbolic structures likethese,Renaissance a cultural understanding of the Renaissance
tencefrom thefourteenth century onwards. Italy'sprojectforthecityshifted awayfrom the city,offering specific architectural compositions
Itisprecisely thisrediscovery, together withthe overallplanà la Filarete towards analogical thatimmediately evokeparadigms ofcityspace.
recovery ofthejuridicalimplications ofbeing representations basedaroundcontained, finite AsGiorgio Agamben has written, theact
a citizenas opposedtoa feudalsubditus ,that architectural compositions. ofmaking anexample isa complex business

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becauseitpresupposes thatinordertorepresent
thecanon,anexample hastobeconceptually
disconnected from theforms ofitseveryday use.26
Intherhetorical mechanisms ofanexample,
form isnotsimply anobjectinitself butanobject
thatoperates as a paradigm forsomething else.
Agamben also reminds us thatin Latin culture
there wasa distinction between anexemplar,
to
something appreciated understood
be and
onlywiththesenses- andthussomething des-
tinedtobeimitated - andanexemplum, a form
whoseinterpretation requires additional intellec- 9. SeePeterVaughan Hart andPeter Hicks
tualorsymbolic references. Palladio
(eds), 'sRome (New Haven, CT:
Itisexactly as anexemplum thatPalladio's YaleUniversityPress, 2006).
Thisessay willappear inPier Vittorio 10.Guido Beltramini, 'Andrea Palladio
architecture operates, with itssubtle references Aureli's book inthemit 1508-1580'inGuido Beltramini and
forthcoming
toancienttypologies andresonances towider PressWriting Architecture Series, with Howard Burns (eds),Palladio (Venezia:
geographical and political contexts. Through theworking The
title, Possibility of Marsilio,
2008), pp2-4.Seealso
anAbsolute Architecture. Zorzi,
Giangiorgio Leopere pubbliche
Palladio,architecture extends itsinfluence on eIpalazzi
diAndrea Palladio (Vicenza:
thecity precisely bybeinga finite andthusclearly 1. RudolfWittkower, 'Principlesof NeriPozza,1965), pp167-69.
recognisable thing, a 'species'inthesensethat Palladio'sArchitecture'(partone)in 11.For anoverview ofthe urban andpoliti-
theMarxist PaoloVirnohasusedthe Journal ofthe Warburg andCourtauld calhistory
ofVenice seeFranco
philosopher vu1944,
Institutes, pp102-22; (part Vicenza:
Barbieri, Storia diunaavven-
term, consisting ofa soleindividual thatcanonly ibid,viu
two), 1944, pp68-102. turaurbana(Milano: Silvana Editoriale,
bepolitically reproduced andnever transposed Architectural inthe
Principles Age of SeealsoGuido
1982). Beltramini,
intoanomnivorous The Humanism (London: Warburg Palladio
Privato (Venice: Marsilio,
general programme.27 Institute,
1949). 2008),
p14.
poweroftheexemplum residesinitsability to 2. ColinRowe, 'The Mathematics ofthe 12.Franco Barbieri, opcit,pp54,68.
proposea general paradigmatic framework Ideal
Villa:Palladio andLeCorbusier 13.SeeAndrea Palladio, The Four Books
rather thana setofregulations orcommands to Compared' inThe Architectural Review, onArchitecture,trans.Robert Tavernor
May 1950, pp289-300. andRichard Schofield (Cambridge,
beliterally deployed. Asanexemplum, Palladio's 3. JamesSAckerman, The Villa:
Form and ma:mitPress, 1997), p82.
architectural form isnotlocatedona plan,nor IdeologyofCountry Houses (London: 14.Ontheideaofthe villaseeJames S
evenestablished as anurbanrule,butisinvested Thames andHudson, 1990), pp10-14. Ackerman,opcit.
4. Thename Palladiocomes from 15.Theone, infamous, exception being
withtherepresentation ofanalternative ideaof anickname
Pallade, giventoPallas Giuliano
daSangallo's Villa Medici
thecity within thevery space of the existing city. Athena.InGreek pallax means 'young' atPoggioaCaiano (1485).
Suchanintuitively tactical andPalladium wasthe wood statue of 16.StefanoRay, 'Integrità eAmbiguità'
understating Pallas
Athena. Itbecame afamous inKurtFoster,Palladio: EinSymposium
ofarchitecture, notonlyas a coherent setof image ofancient Graeco-Roman (Rome:Schweiserisches Institut in
principles but as a mobile element never tied mythology andonwhich thesafety ofa Rom, 1980),
pp53-74.
toanoverall plan, seems to have its origin in wasmeant
city todepend. Thename 17.For ananalysis ofthelink between
wasprobably chosen byTrissino inref- Palladio's
architecture andthereform
Palladio'spassionfortheartofwar.28 Inthe erencetoAngel Palladio,acharacter in oftheSerenissima's Terraferma see
Quattro Librihenotesthatinthesuccessful hispoem 'L'Italia
Liberata daiGoti'. DenisCosgrove, The Palladian Land-
defence ofa citytheimperative toconstruct Trissino'schoice ofthisname is scape:
Geographical Change andits
absolutelyexplicitinthecultural inten- Cultural
Representations inSixteenth-
perimeter walls is oflittle use compared tothe tions
hesawthe architect assup- pa:Penn
young Century
Italy(Philadelphia,
training ofthe soldiers and an accurate knowl- posedtoembody -inTrissino militant State
University Press, 1993).
edgeofthesurrounding territory - a militarised (andslightlydelirious)classicism, 18.SeeGino Benzoni (ed), Verso laSanta
oflandscapeandcivicmanage- Palladiowastheresurrection ofan Ruzzante,
Agricoltura: ilPolesine
understanding ancientarchitect.Onthesources of Associazione
(Rovigo: Culturale
mentso faithfully represented inhisbattleillus- Palladio'sname seeFranco Barbieri, Minelliana,
2004).
trations forthesixteenth-century publication Architetture
Palladiane (Vicenza: Neri 19.SeeAndrea Palladio, opcit, pp18-20.
ofPolybius's Histories. Whatitinteresting about Pozza,1992), pp211-12. 20.Onthe Venetian projects ofSabbadino
5. SeeFlavia Cantatore,'CasaCivena ei andCornaro seeManfredo Tafuri,
thesetroopformation diagrams isthewaythey primistudi diAndrea Palladio percase Venice
andthe Renaissance (Cambridge,
replicate hisvillas'ownframing oftheland- epalazzi'inFranco Barbierietal(eds), ma:mitPress, 1995), pp139-60.
Palladio1508-1580: IlSimposio del 21.Ibid,p146.
scape.Thismentality thatfusedthestability of
Cinquecentenario (Venezia:Marsilio, 22.Ibid, p58.
architecture withthefluidcomplexity ofnew 2008),
pp245-49. 23.Ibid.
urbanspacesandforms seemstohavemade 6. Pierfilippo
Castelli,Lavitadi 24.Ontheelevation oftheGreek oikos
Palladiodeeplysceptical aboutanyoverarching Giovangiorgio Oratore
Trissino, ePoeta asaprincipleofcity management see
(Venezia:Giovanni Radici,
1753), p75. Giorgio
Agamben, IlPotere eLaGloria
urbanplan,andpushedhiminsteadtoframe his SeealsoFranco Barbieri,'Giangiorgio (Vicenza: Neri Pozza, 2007).
(implicit) proj ect for the city in the same way he TrissinoeAndrea Palladio'inNeri 25.Andrea Palladio, opcit, pp149-50.
understood theartofwar- as a project Pozza(ed),Attidelconvegno distudi su 26.GiorgioAgamben, 'Checosaèun
tactically Trissino(Vicenza: Neri inGiorgio
Giangiorgio Paradigma?' Agamben,
opentothemultiplicity ofitsterritorial circum- Pozza,1980). Rerum:
Signata SulMetodo
stancesandyetresolute initsformal strategy. In 7. Thesame promotion ofRoman archi- Bollati
(Turin: Boringhieri, 2008), p20.
thisrespect, Palladio'saccessiblegeography of tecture
would beembraced byDaniele 27.Paolo Virno,Mondanità: L'idea dimondo
Barbaro,another patriciananddiplo- tra sensibile
esperienza esfera pubblica
architectures canbereadas exemplars ofa city mat,who supported Palladioafter (Rome:Manifestolibri, 1994), p106.
nolongerconstrained by itswalled civitas ,butas Trissino'sdeath in1550. 28.OnPalladio's war architecture see
a territorywhoseform liesinitsattempt totrace 8. SeeFrancesco Paolo diTeodoro, GuidoBeltramini, 'Palladio eL'archi-
'AndreaPalladio eillascitoteorico tettura
dellabattaglia: leedizioni
andmakeexplicit thegeographical andpolitical diRaffaello:alcune osservazioni' in illustrate
diCesare Polibio'inPalladio
conditions ofitsexistence. FrancoBarbieri, opcit,pp80-86. 1508-2008,opcit, pp217-29.

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