Variations on perfection

The ideal form of the Villa Capra,‘La Rotonda’, in Italy has fascinated British patrons and architects since the 18th century. William Aslet considers how they have experimented and developed its ideas

- William Aslet

THE name of the Italian architect Andrea Palladio has today become disassociated from the historical context in which he lived and worked. To talk of ‘Palladianism’ is not to refer to the world of Italy’s Veneto in the 16th century, where the architect made his career; rather, for its admirers, it is to speak of mathematical harmony and proportion in architecture, as well as the ideal of a rational, aesthetic perfection tempered by the Roman past.

The building elevated above all others as an expression of these aspirations is Palladio’s Villa Capra, ‘La Rotonda’ . Situated in the hills outside Vicenza, its plan is bold in its simplicity. It comprises two perfect figures, a circle nestled within a square, the former containing a domed hall and the latter the principal rooms, all of which are symmetrically arranged. In reflection of the perfect plan, each of the four façades is defined by a nearly identical portico of the Ionic order approached by a steep flight of steps.

Since its construction, the building has stood as a challenge to architects inspired by the Palladian ideal, one that has particularly engaged British architects working on their native soil. This is perhaps surprising, given the unsuitability of the Rotonda form to the British climate. In Italy, the porticos provide cooling breezes during the summer, whereas, in Britain, they are almost invariably the source of chilling draughts. Even in the 18th century, when the British mania for Palladio was at its peak, Alexander Pope ridiculed architects who were ‘Proud to catch cold at a Venetian door;/Conscious they act a true Palladian part,/And, if they starve, they starve by rules of art’.