A long-awaited reassessment of Andrea Palladio€s canonical villas that challenges widely accepted interpretations of the Renaissance architect€s work

Many historians of architecture have viewed the villas of Andrea Palladio (1508€“1580) as physical manifestations of the classical architectural principles described in his treatise The Four Books of Architecture (I Quattro Libri dell€Architettura). Written toward the end of his life, The Four Books illustrate Palladio€s built work, redrawn the way he wanted it to be. In this groundbreaking new study, American architect and educator Peter Eisenman analyzes twenty of Palladio€s villas, offering a radical interpretation of the Renaissance master€s work.
 
Working from an architect€s perspective, Eisenman, with Matt Roman, shows the evolution of Palladio€s villas from those that exhibit classical symmetrical volumetric bodies to others that exhibit no bodies at all, just fragments in a landscape. This conclusion stands in stark contrast to studies that emphasize principles of ideal symmetry and proportion in Palladio€s work. Featuring more than 300 new analytic drawings and models, this handsome book is an important addition to the corpus of Palladian studies and a testament to Palladio€s lasting place in contemporary architectural thought.