Ever since the advent of Modernism, the rebirth in Italy of classical Greek and Roman styles remains the basis for most modern architecture. Marco Bussaghi’s vast pictorial survey of Italian Rennaissance architecture reveals, with lush photographs, contemporary architectural drawings, maps and models, how geniuses such as Palladio Brunelleschi, and Alberti achieved perfect integration of their buildings with surrounding landscapes. Stunning interiors, such as those of the Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza, the Chiesa di San Bernardino in Urbino, and the Palazzo Farnese are all detailed with full-color photographs which beautifully capture the decor.

Masterpieces such as the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence, or that of Saint Peter’s in Rome became the touchstones for New styles, such as the Neoclassical St. Peter’s in Rome, and the Capitol in Washington D.C. This artistic period, which lasted from the early 1400s through the end of the 1500s, is the widely hailed cultural phenomenon now called “Palladianism,” in tribute to Andrea Palladio, the most famed of Italian architectural geniuses.


The book is illustrated and organized by type of construction, major architects, nd geographical location. A glossary of architectural terms (in four languages), illustrated with line drawings, offers another dimension for understanding the wonders of this age.