From Publishers Weekly
Italian Renaissance architect and architectural theorist Palladio (1508-1580), whose superb and influential buildings helped define the renaissance, has been lucky in his commentators. Palladio's unique way of relating art to nature and architecture to surrounding natural forms in order to reinvent ancient classicism has been well described in such previous books as Vincent Scully's The Villas of Palladio. Now Rybczynski (The Look of Architecture, etc.), the University of Pennsylvania professor of urbanism and Wharton Business School professor of real estate, offers a confident look at his own touristic visits to the surviving Palladian villas: 17 out of around 30 remain, such as the Villa Rotunda in Vicenza and the Villa Foscari at Malcontenta. In 10 concise chapters devoted to these and other villas, Rybczynski proves a deeply able and aptly enchanted guide. Actually renting Villa Saraceno at Finale di Agugliaro, he describes in detail how careful proportions foster a sense of "well-being" and make the small villa seem "palatial" "almost like being outside." While Rybczynski doesn't quite generate the personal interest that normally drives a travel diary, his careful observations of everything from climatic conditions to fender benders will have readers eagerly following in his footsteps and finding traces of Palladio everywhere. Illus. not seen by PW.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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Modern architects are more and more often finding fame as builders of personal houses, instead of from the building of public buildings and spaces. Perhaps the very first architect who found fame almost exclusively through the building of privately owned homes was Palladio, who designed villas in the countryside around Venice and Vicenza, Italy, in the sixteenth century. Rybczynski, a professor of architecture, finds himself smitten with Palladio and the greatness of his work. He takes a tour of his villas, carefully describing each one, and deftly interweaves the story of Palladio's life. And Palladio's villas, though generally small in scale, have had a big influence on some of the best known landmark buildings (and grand private residences) around the world: the White House, Buckingham Palace, and Monticello--all of them derive some of their architectural motifs from Palladio's influence. Rybczynski's fascination comes from the fact "that a handful of houses should have made their presence felt hundreds of years later and halfway around the globe is extraordinary. It makes Palladio the most influential architect in history."
Michael SpinellaCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
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