Andrea Palladio has identified architecture for five centuries. Palladio was born on 30 November 1508 in Padua. He designed villas and bridges in the region of Veneto, palaces and theatres in the province of Vincenza , churches and cloisters in Venice. After his death in 1580 his works and the famous treatise “The Four Books of Architecture” reformed North European architecture, from Great Britain to Russia, and later his influence penetrated overseas and became the model for public space buildings and private houses in America and Australia.
Andrea Palladio is a great Italian artist, a seed of local culture and his works constitute part of the world’s cultural heritage. On 500th anniversary of Palladio’s birthday the Veneto National Committee and Veneto Regional Committee, under the auspices of Amalia Sartori, has promoted a series of events and educational activities, research and publishings of which the crowning achievement is “Andrea Palladio 500” exhibition organized by the initiative of Centro Internazionale di Studi di Architettura Andrea Palladio, Royal Academy of Arts in London and Royal Institute of British Architects. The exhibition has been presented in Vincenza at Palazzo Barbaran Da Porto from 20 September 2008 till 6 January 2009, and in London at Royal Academy of Arts from 31 January till 13 April 2009. This exposition, which will be on view at the Museum of Architecture in Wroclaw from 9 October till 21 November, is the third edition of the project and contains about a dozen large format photographs of the most famous works of the great artist, e.g. Villa Pisani (Montagnana), Palazzo Thiene, Villa La Rotonda and Olimpic Theatre in Vincenza, Church of San Giorgio Maggiore in Venice, and Villa Foscari in Malcontenta di Mira. Later, the exhibition will be on view in USA.
Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) was the most influential architects of the last centuries. He is one of the main figures in architecture history, linking ancient architecture with construction skills of late medieval times and the growing need for representative residential architecture of his age. Palladio gives special attention to the Greek and Roman world in his studies on ruins and ancient writings on architecture. He transformed what he learnt into new forms and typologies - like the villa - which was able to meet the needs of his times and those to come. Palladio raised the status of residential architecture, therein also relatively low-cost urban and village houses. His buildings have changed the way of living and the display of one’s means. Thanks to Palladio a house in the city or village has become an object in which the architect can show his artistry and knowledge of the rules of fine architecture and at the same time fulfill the individual needs of the client. Palladio’s works extend the meaning of architecture, from the social point of view and in the question of building typology. His architecture reached the circle of rich merchants and land owners without hereditary titles, preceding the later expansion of the middleclass in England and Holland.
The fame and influence of Palladio are not only based on his buildings, but also on the treatise “The Four Books of Architecture”, in which he explains the language typical for architecture and publishes many of his works.