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Palladio's Influence On America

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Prior to writing his four published book on architecture Palladio had written two different books that was based on architecture. These books were published in 1554 in Rome while he was visiting Daniele Barbaro. Essentially the purpose of the books was to serve as guidebooks for historical monuments within Rome. The first book he had written contained short descriptions for travelers that discussed the appearance and history of classical ruins. His guidebook was actually a replacement for an older medieval guidebook, which focused more on the mythical side of Rome. Palladio’s book stood out because he pertained more to factual information rather than fictional. Many people, who were visiting Rome, bought the first book because they found it …show more content…

His design features such as porticos, classical orders, and dwellings have inspired many American architects to recreate these designs in their buildings. As previously mentioned, porticos represent the importance of the residents and enhanced the architecture. The Frascati building in Virginia proves that the portico served as a symbol of importance because the resident was a member of the U.S. Supreme Court. This buildings portico is almost identical to Palladio’s Villa Emo’s. There are many other buildings in America that have integrated this feature into their designs following Palladio’s principles. Nevertheless there are other modern-day architects who did not follow his principles and the porticos are unsymmetrical. Although some have failed to follow his principles there are some buildings that portray his designs well. An example of an American building with a portico is Whitehall. The portico is located in the central section of the building. Along with the portico the architect of this building incorporated Corinthian columns into the design, a classical order that was seen in many of Palladio’s

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