The Palladian Churches

“One way or another, most of us have encountered Andrea Palladio,” writes Jonathan Glancey in the The Guardian. “Handsomely crafted, imaginatively sited and bringing the best of classical Roman architecture up to date, his buildings had a profound influence on architecture worldwide.” Born in nearby Padua, the Venetian nobility quickly took to Palladio’s architectural impressive stage-set style. It suited the theatricality of the city, and his monuments still stand out in this city of superlative architecture. “All are located at the extremities of the city,” write Philippe and Oscar Duboÿ at the Louis Vuitton Venice Guide, “San Francesco della Vigna is at the northern end of Castello. San Giorgio Maggiore on the island of the same name, and the Redentore and Zitelle, both on Giudecca, form an arc of churches along the St Mark’s Basin.” Climb St Mark’s campanile or wander along the Zattere for the best view of them.  

Palladio is one of (“if not the”) most beloved of Renaissance architects, says Joseph Giovannini in Departures. His palazzi “range from the austere to the sumptuous.” His originality lay in his celebrating buildings that no one else had bothered to notice, writes Giovannini, “and his great innovation was to combine their style with temple architecture.” And if visitors to Venice today feel they are seeing something familiar, “it’s because they have been coming across its progeny for years -- often in their very own towns and cities … in America the architecture appears on the nickel, in the form of Thomas Jefferson’s very Palladian Monticello.”