The Four Books of Architecture

by Andrea Palladio, Adolf K. Placzek (Introduction)

Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) was one of the most celebrated architects of the Renaissance, so important that the term Palladian has been applied to a particular style of architecture that adheres to classical concepts. The wide spread of Palladianism was due partly to the private and public buildings he constructed in Italy, the designs of which were copied throughout Europe. But of even greater consequence was his remarkable magnum opus, "I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura"; translated into every major Western European language in the two centuries following its publication in 1570, it has been one of the most influential books in the history of architecture.
The Four Books of Architecture offers a compendium of Palladio's art and of the ancient Roman structures that inspired him. The First Book is devoted to building materials and techniques and the five orders of Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. Palladio indicates the characteristic features of each order and supplies illustrations of various architectural details. The Second Book deals with private houses and mansions, almost all of Palladio's own design. Shown and described are many of his villas in and near Venice and Vicenza (including the famous Villa Capra, or "The Rotunda," the Thiene Palace, and the Valmarana Palace). Each plate gives a front view drawing of the building and the general floor plan. The Third Book is concerned with streets, bridges, piazzas, and basilicas, most of which are of ancient Roman origin. In the Fourth Book, Palladio reproduces the designs of a number of ancient Roman temples. Plates 51 to 60 are plans and architectural sketches of the Pantheon.
In all, the text is illustrated by over 200 magnificently engraved plates, showing edifices, either of Palladio's own design or reconstructed (in these drawings) by him from classical ruins and contemporary accounts.
All the original plates are reproduced in this new single-volume edition in full size and in clear, sharp detail. This is a republication of the Isaac Ware English edition of 1738. Faithful and accurate in the translation and in its reproduction of the exquisite original engravings, it has long been a rare, sought-after work. This edition makes The Four Books available for the first time in more than 200 years to the English-speaking public.

Genres: Architecture, Art, Nonfiction, Design, Reference, History, Urbanism

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1570

About the author

Italian architect Andrea Palladio developed a style, based on the classicism of ancient Rome and breaking with the ornate conventions of the Renaissance; his works include the villa Rotonda and the palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza.

Four Books of Architecture , derived in great part from Marcus Vitruvius Pollio, elaborated the principles of Andrea Palldio; people widely adopted these principles and consequently often consider him the most influential individual in the history of west, "valued for centuries as the quintessence of high Renaissance calm and harmony," according to David Watkin in A History of Western Architecture .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrea_...

Reviews

[زاهي رستم]

أندريا بالاديو معماري رائع... وقد أسس مدرسة وفلسفة مما ورثه عن فيتروفيوس.. وسميت فلسفته البلادية التي اجتاحت العالم كله.. وقد كان لي الشرف أن أكون واحداً من الفريق الذي نقله إلى العربية.. وهو مشروع نقوم به.. لتعريب العديد من أمهات الكتب، لتعم الفائدة على عموم قراء العربية.

كتاب رائع.

[Joe Michalak]

The book provides wonderful commentary on Roman architecture, and amazingly detailled drawings from the author. In fact, for the content, I would likely rate this book 4 stars.

However, the Dover edition... not great. First of all, not much is gained by leaving the old english typography. If you have an aversion to the printed letter S this is the book for you. Secondly, better judgement could've been made in matching the drawings with the text. There would be about 10 chapters, talking about 10 different buildings/topics, and then 20-30 pages of the drawings, which means a lot of unnecessary page turning. It would be a much more pleasant experience if the text was nearer to the drawings.

[J. Baranzelli]

I have been holding off on reviewing this one because I really dont have anything to say about it
It pretty much just felt like a continuation of vitruvius which I guess would be the goal. I enjoyed many of the illustrations in this book but I found the descriptions of buildings mind numbing

[Lydia]

A classic from the Venetian architect of the 16th century. This is a great translation in modern English. Palladio said all architecture should have "Firmness, Commodity, and Delight." His style was copied by Jefferson and used for the U.S. Capitol, among others. Excellent reference.

[Ned]

I stare at the pictures for hours trying to cement the proportions in my visual memory . . .

[Poet for fun]

Por el contenido, le daré al libro cinco estrellas, pero la edición es terrible y ameritaría una sola (o ninguna): los textos escaneados del ejemplar impreso no fueron revisados, y así, el programa confundió las letras u y v, asignándolas indistintamente y, por si fuera poco, en muchas ocasiones volteó la letra u, la cual quedó como n en bastantes palabras. Es probable que la edición impresa usase un tipo de fuente estilisado, ya que la mayoría de las letras s (no todas) aparecen escritas utilizando una consonante bastante parecida a la f, lo cual complica de por más la lectura. El programa también transformó la letra i en j para aquellas palabras que acaban con doble i. En resúmen: lectura complicada innecesaria y gratuitamente, pero, aun así, deleitosa.

[Paul]

Nicely illustrated guide to various classical structures and design laws which Palladio had inferred from studying them. The section on building materials was an interesting case of people stumbling on rules of thumbs (e.g. around sand types) which they didn't quite understand because of a lack of the science of chemistry. Worth it if only for its historical importance.

[Fernando Danieli]

I visited his villas and churches in the Veneto. A great architect for the centuries and a profund thinker of space and form. He was also a theoretical mind.

[Davide Tronchin]

Illuminante

[Camerun Coleman]

if you build your house in the valley your people will be sick and stupid.

[Juli Anna]

skimmed this, rather than reading the whole text. very technical and dull, but definitely worth glancing at if you have any interest in domestic architecture. also, this was one of Thomas Jefferson's favorites, and you can really see its influence on the architecture of Monticello.

[ben c]

useful sort-of in the library / occasionally
(interesting [conjectured drawing based on written description] of Caesars bridge over the river Rhine going into Germania - technically challenging ,

[Vanlilith]

-

[Shannon]

Excellent resource for new "simple rules" for better building design!

[Luke Krzysztofiak]

Outstanding reintroduction to ANDREA PALLADIO. My personal favorite architect.

[Ondřej Šefčík]

Absolute classic for anyone interested in the classical art and architecture.

[Lamsa Gamal]

كنت محتاج الكتاب كامل باللغه العربيه يا جماعه مش لاقيه خالص كامل ياريت حد يساعدني