The Perfect House: A Journey with the Renaissance Master Andrea Palladio - Softcover

Rybczynski, Witold

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743221397 ISBN 13: 9780743221399

Publisher: Scribner, 2003

Synopsis

Renaissance master Andrea Palladio's architectural DNA can be seen on modern-day icons from Buckingham Palace to the White House, from numerous English stately homes to Virginian plantation houses. In THE PERFECT HOUSE Witold Rybczynski travels along the Brenta River in north-eastern Italy to experience the surviving original Palladian villas for himself. He sets out to discover how a rustic sixteenth-century stonemason, born Andrea di Pietro, first had to become 'cultured' before he could be one of the most respected architects of all time, and how Palladio managed to bring the elegance of Ancient Rome to the Venetian countryside. Out of the chaos of hired cars and cheap flights, towns packed with 'Ristoranti Palladio' and herds of tourists, Rybczynski savours moments of epiphany as he contemplates Palladio's perfect houses. Part travelogue, part historical biography, part architectural guide, THE PERFECT HOUSE is a delightful and enlightening exploration of the birth of domestic architecture and the man who spawned it.

About this title

About the Author

Witold Rybczynski was born in Edinburgh, raised in Surrey and attended Jesuit schools in England and Canada. He is an architect and Professor of Urbanism at the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of several books and his exploration of domestic comfort, HOME, has been translated into eight languages.

Edition details

• Publisher: Scribner
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743221397
• ISBN 13: 9780743221399
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 320