The Villas of Palladio

About this book

The Renaissance architect and builder Andrea Palladio is arguable the most influential architect in Western history and certainly the most beloved. His sixteenth-century villas in the Italian Veneto revolutionized the course of architecture and the principles on which he based his work are still felt today. For the past several years Italian watercolorist Giovanni Giaconi has devoted his talents to creating exquisite large-format pen-and-ink watercolor renderings of all thirty-two of Palladios villas. Each drawing captures the timeless beauty of Palladian architecture and provides a detailed record of these masterpieces. Together with brief descriptions of each villa samples of Giaconis preparatory sketches and where available Palladios own woodcuts these works of art leave a deep impression of Palladios oeuvre and give the reader an opportunity to compare the original designs with the actual buildings and their present state of conservation. This beautiful book is a must-have and the perfect gift for architects travelers and lovers of Italy and Palladios architecture.