Architect and theorist Andrea Palladio died on this day in 1580 at age 72. Widely recognized as one of the most influential architects of the Western tradition, Palladio’s designs and theories were based on deep knowledge of Classical architecture. Not only did Palladio have a profound impact on the architecture of Venice and the Veneto, but also his buildings and publications, above all his I quattro libri dell’architettura (1570), influenced generations of architects and inspired Palladianism in the 18th and early 19th centuries like Lord Burlington’s Chiswick House, London and Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello, both based on Palladio’s Villa Rotonda near Vicenza.

Reference: Andreas Beyer. “Palladio, Andrea.” Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford University Press. Web. .

Further reading: The Four Books of Architecture by Andrea Palladio; Palladio’s Venice: Architecture and Society in a Renaissance Republic by Tracy Cooper (2006); and Andrea Palladio: The Architect in His Time by Bruce Boucher and Paolo Marton (2007).

Tags: 16th century, andrea palladio, architectural history, Architectural Theory, architecture, art, art history, chiswick house, classicism, history, italian architecture, italian art, Italian Renaissance, lord burlington, monticello, neoclassicism, otd, palladianism, palladio, Renaissance, theory, thomas jefferson, Veneto, Venice, vicenza, villa rotonda, ville venete