Variations on perfection

THE name of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio has today become disassociated from the historical context in which he lived and worked. To talk of ‘Palladianism’ is not to refer to the world of Italy’s Veneto in the 16th century, where the architect made his career; rather, for its admirers, it is to speak of mathematical harmony and proportion in architecture, as well as the ideal of a rational, aesthetic perfection tempered by the Roman past.

The building elevated above all others as an expression of these aspirations is Palladio’s Villa Capra, ‘La Rotonda’ (Fig 2). Situated in the hills outside Vicenza, its plan is bold in its simplicity. It comprises two perfect figures, a circle nestled within a square, the former containing a domed hall and the latter the principal rooms, all of which are symmetrically arranged. In reflection of the perfect plan, each of the four façades is defined by a nearly identical portico of the Ionic order approached by a steep flight of steps.

Since its