Vicenza: Palladio's Basilica

Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola, nicknamed Palladio, was one of the most successful and renowned architects of the 16th century. 

The Basilica was his first public project, involving the creation of loggias to adorn (and, in the process, to hide) the Vicenza town hall.  Very cleverly done, it needs a careful examination to see exactly how he did it!

His lasting fame was ensured by his printing of the architectural treatise "The Four Books of Architecture".  The quality, range and detail of the illustrations in these books enabled architects to work directly from them without being obliged to incur the expense of travelling to Italy.  In Britain Inigo Jones, Christopher Wren and William Kent we among the many architects who adopted the Palladian style.