Villa+Capra+or+la+Rotonda

Villa Capra "La Rotonda**"** is the most famous Renaissance villa designed by Andrea Palladio in Vicenza. The name "Capra" derives from the Capra brothers, who completed the building after it was ceded to them in 1591. Villa Capra was commissioned to Palladio by the the wealthy cleric Paolo Almerico, following his decision to leave the papal court and to return to his home town of Vicenza. Villa Capra was inspired by the Pantheon in Rome. The site selected for the villa was a hilltop just outside the city of Vicenza. Almerico had no need of a vast Palazzo but wished for a sophisticated Villa, and this is exactly what Palladio produced for him. Building began more or less in 1566; the villa, which is in perfect harmony with the landscape, was designed as a square building, completely symmetrical, as though an imaginary circle touched the walls of the square at any given point. Moreover, La Rotonda refers to the central circular hall with its dome, describing the villa. Each of the four facades have a portico with steps leading up and each of the four principal entrances lead to the circular domed central hall through a small cabinet or corridor. All other rooms were proportioned with mathematical precision according to Palladio's own rules of architecture which he ordained in the Quattro Libri dell'Architettura. The design reflected the humanist values of Renaissance architecture. In order for each room to have some sun, the design was rotated 45 degrees from each cardinal point of the compass. Each of the four porticos has pediments graced by statues of classical deities. The pediments were supported by six Ionic columns. Each portico was flanked by a single window. All principal rooms were on the second floor or piano nobile. Unfortunately, Palladio and the owner Paolo Almerico were not to see the completion of the villa. As a matter of fact, Palladio died in 1580 and a second architect, Vincenzo Scamozzi, was employed by the new owners to oversee the completion. The interior design of the Villa was to be as wonderful than the exterior; so, Alessandro and Giambattista Maganza and Anselmo Canera were commissioned to paint frescoes in the principal rooms. Today the Villa Capra is in the ownership of Mario di Valmarana, an architect, and expert on the works of Palladio. The villa has been his family's home for more than two centuries. It is his declared ambition to preserve Villa Rotonda so that it may be appreciated by future generations.
 * __La Rotonda__**