Page:A history of architecture on the comparative method for the student, craftsman, and amateur.djvu/546

 488 COMPARATIVE ARCHITECTURE. VICENZA AND VERONA. These are notable cities possessing many examples of Renais- sance architecture, and are counted in the Venetian School. Vicenza was the birthplace of Palladio (a.d. 1518-1580) and the scene of his labours. His churches are referred to above. He indefatigably studied, and measured, all the Roman antiquities, as may be seen by the drawings in his book on architecture. His designs were mostly erected in brick and stucco, the lower story being rusticated, and the upper ones having pilasters. A second method was to comprise two floors in the height of the order (No. 216 g), to obtain scale in that feature, and unity and dignity in the whole composition. There are several examples in Vicenza of both of these methods, as the Palazzo Bavharano (a.d. 1570) (No. 2i5 h), the Palazzo Chierecati (a.d. 1560), the Palazzo Tiene (a.d. 1556), the Palazzo Capitanio (formerly Prefitizio) (No. 216 g), and the Palazzo Valmarana (a.d. 1556). The Teatro Olimpico (a.d. 1580), with the stage built in perspective, is an interesting building completed by Scamozzi. The Basilica at Vicenza, originally erected in the medieval period (about 1444), owes its importance to the double-storied Renaissance arcades. These arcades (Nos. 215 and 216 a, b, c) were designed by Palladio in 1549, and are his most famous work, being built in a beautiful stone in two stories of Doric and Ionic orders, separated by arches supported on a minor order. This is generally known as the Palladian '■'■ motif ^^ and was pro- duced in this case by the necessity of making each bay correspond with the Gothic hall, of which it forms the frontispiece. The Villa del Capva, Vicenza (generally known as the Rotonda), is an example of the application of the features of Classic architecture carried to an extreme (Nos. 216 d, e, f and 238 b). It is a square building, with a pillared portico on each face leading to a central rotunda, which appears externally as a low dome above the tiled roof, hipped all ways from the angles of the main building. The design of this building was utilized by Lord Burlington at Chiswick (page 581), and it has also been copied elsewhere, both in England and on the Continent. Although Palladio's designs were mainly executed in common materials such as brick and stucco, and were often never fully carried out, still their publication in books had a far-reaching influence on European architecture, and he was followed in his methods by Inigo Jones (page 567). Verona owes many of its most important buildings to Sanmicheli (a.d. 1484-1549), an architect of ability, who was also the originator of a new system of fortification, and the entrance gateways through the fortifications of Verona are excellent instances of his power of giving character to his works,