The Four Books on Architecture

by Andrea Palladio

The Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio was one of the most influential figures that the field of architecture has ever produced. For classical architects, the term Palladian stands for a vocabulary of architectural forms embodying perfection and beauty. Of even greater significance than Palladio's buildings is his treatise I quattro libri dell'architettura (The Four Books On Architecture), the most successful architectural treatise of the Renaissance and one of the two or three most important books in the literature of architecture. First published in Italian in 1570, it has been translated into every major Western language.This is the first English translation of Palladio in over 250 years, making it the only translation available in modern English. Until now, English-language readers have had to rely mostly on a facsimile of Isaac Ware's 1738 translation and the eighteenth-century engravings prepared for that text. This new translation by Robert Tavernor and Richard Schofield contains Palladio's original woodcuts, reproduced in facsimile and positioned correctly, adjacent to the text. The book also contains a glossary that explains technical terms in their original context, a bibliography of recent Palladio research, and an introduction to Palladio and his times.The First Book discusses building materials and techniques, as well as the five orders of Tuscan, Doric, Ionic, Corinthian, and Composite. Palladio describes the characteristics of each order and illustrates them. The Second Book discusses private town houses and country estates, almost all designed by Palladio. The Third Book discusses streets, bridges, piazzas, and basilicas, most of ancient Roman origin. The Fourth Book discusses ancient Roman temples, including the Pantheon.

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

436 pages, Hardcover

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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.

[Ned · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Poet for fun · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Illuminante

[Camerun Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Juli Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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[Shannon · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Luke Krzysztofiak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding reintroduction to ANDREA PALLADIO. My personal favorite architect.

[Ondřej Šefčík · Rating 5 out of 5]

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

[Lamsa Gamal · Rating 3 out of 5]

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