Squaring the Circle Villa La Rotonda, the Palladian masterpiece that has inspired some of the world’s most famous buildings words and photos tom weber
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opposite: The central circular hall covered by a domed vault 38 SUMMER 2021 ANTHOLOGY
or over a millennium, the Most Serene Republic of Venice (La Serenissima) was a wealthy, majestic and innovative maritime power. A leader in trade and diplomacy between Europe and the Orient, Venice uniquely bridged the social, political and cultural divide between the two geographies. Sadly, like all great powers, the Republic lost its strength, alliances fell apart and, while the rest of maritime Europe headed west following the discovery of the New World, La Serenissima stayed close to home. But in its heyday, between the 16th and 18th centuries, when the Lion of St. Mark roared and everyone listened, the doges and aristocrats built splendid Venetian villas on their estates in the countryside of the Republic. When the last coat of paint finally dried and the final fresco was unveiled, there were over 4,300 Venetian villas dotting the landscape, monumental agricultural centres of architectural fame filled with great art that collectively became known as Civiltà delle Ville Venete (Civilisation of the Venetian Villas). A particular group of these estates were designed by Maestro Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola, better known as Palladio, one of the most influential individuals in the history of Western architecture. This collection of villas, now part of a UNESCO World Heritage site, represents a distinct architectural style known as Palladianism – a neoclassical interpretation of the ancient temples of Greece and Rome – which spread like wildfire around Europe, including Ireland and the UK, and eventually reached North America. Of all the iconic buildings, churches, residences and monuments across the Veneto region of north-eastern Italy that bear the imprint of Palladio, there is one that fully encapsulates the Maestro’s vision of an architectural design and associated lifestyle: Villa Almerico Capra, better known as La Rotonda.
