Villa La Rotonda is a
Renaissance villa
A villa is a type of house that was originally an ancient Roman upper class country house. Since its origins in the Roman villa, the idea and function of a villa have evolved considerably. After the fall of the Roman Republic, villas became sm ...
just outside
Vicenza in northern
Italy designed by Italian Renaissance architect
Andrea Palladio
Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...
. The villa's correct name is Villa Almerico Capra Valmarana, but it is also known as "La Rotonda", "Villa Rotonda", "Villa Capra", and "Villa Almerico Capra". The name ''Capra'' derives from the Capra brothers, who completed the building after it was ceded to them in 1592. Along with other works by Palladio, the building is conserved as part of the
World Heritage Site "
City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto
City of Vicenza and the Palladian Villas of the Veneto is a World Heritage Site in Italy, which protects buildings by the architect Andrea Palladio. UNESCO inscribed the site on the World Heritage List in 1994. At first the site was called " ...
".
Inspiration
In 1565 a priest,
Paolo Almerico, on his retirement from the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
(as referendario apostolico of
Pope Pius IV and afterwards
Pius V
Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...
), decided to return to his home town of
Vicenza in the
Venetian
Venetian often means from or related to:
* Venice, a city in Italy
* Veneto, a region of Italy
* Republic of Venice (697–1797), a historical nation in that area
Venetian and the like may also refer to:
* Venetian language, a Romance language s ...
countryside and build a country house. This house, later known as 'La Rotonda', was to be one of Palladio's best-known legacies to the architectural world.
Villa Capra may have inspired a thousand subsequent buildings, but the villa was itself inspired by the
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
in
Rome.
Design
The site selected was a hilltop just outside the city of Vicenza. Unlike some other
Palladian villas of the Veneto, the building was not designed from the start to accommodate a working farm. This sophisticated building was designed for a site which was, in modern terminology, "suburban". Palladio classed the building as a "
palazzo
A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...
" rather than a villa.
The design is for a completely symmetrical building having a square plan with four facades, each of which has a projecting
portico. The whole is contained within an imaginary circle which touches each corner of the building and centres of the porticos. (''illustration, left'').
The name ''La Rotonda'' refers to the central circular hall with its
dome. To describe the villa, as a whole, as a
rotunda is technically incorrect, as the building is not circular but rather the intersection of a
square with a
cross
A cross is a geometrical figure consisting of two intersecting lines or bars, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of the Latin letter X, is termed a s ...
. Each portico has steps leading up to it, and opens via a small
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filin ...
or corridor to the circular domed central hall. This and all other rooms were proportioned with mathematical precision according to Palladio's own rules of architecture which he published in ''
I quattro libri dell'architettura''. Works spaces for the villa's servants are hidden in a low level underneath the first floor, which is accessed via staircases hidden inside the walls of the central hall.
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 each supported by six
Ionic columns. Each portico was flanked by a single window. All principal rooms were on the second floor or ''
piano nobile''.
Building began in 1567. Neither Palladio nor the owner, Paolo Almerico, were to see the completion of the villa. Palladio died in 1580 and a second architect,
Vincenzo Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure ...
, was employed by the new owners to oversee the completion. One of the major changes he made to the original plan was to modify the two-storey central hall.
Palladio had intended it to be covered by a high semi-circular dome but Scamozzi designed a lower dome with an
oculus Oculus (a term from Latin ''oculus'', meaning 'eye'), may refer to the following
Architecture
* Oculus (architecture), a circular opening in the centre of a dome or in a wall
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Oculus'' (film), a 2013 American s ...
(intended to be open to the sky) inspired by the
Pantheon
Pantheon may refer to:
* Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building
Arts and entertainment Comics
*Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization
* ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...
in Rome. The dome was ultimately completed with a
cupola.
Interior
The interior design of the Villa was to be as wonderful, if not more so, than the exterior.
Alessandro
Alessandro is both a given name and a surname, the Italian form of the name Alexander. Notable people with the name include:
People with the given name Alessandro
* Alessandro Allori (1535–1607), Italian portrait painter
* Alessandro Baricco ...
and
Giovanni Battista Maganza and
Anselmo Canera
Anselmo Canera, or Canneri (active 1522–1584), was an Italian painter of the late Renaissance, born and mainly active in Verona. He is noted for his frescoes and his collaborations with other Italian Renaissance artists such as Bernardino India ...
were commissioned to paint frescoes in the principal salons.
Among the four principal salons on the ''piano nobile'' are the West Salon (also called the Holy Room, because of the religious nature of its frescoes and ceiling), and the East Salon, which contains an allegorical life story of the first owner, Paolo Almerico, his many admirable qualities portrayed in fresco.
The highlight of the interior is the central, circular hall, surrounded by a balcony and covered by the domed ceiling; it soars the full height of the main house up to the cupola, with walls decorated in ''
trompe-l'œil''.
Abundant frescoes create an atmosphere that is more reminiscent of a cathedral than the principal salon of a country house.
Landscape
From the porticos, views of the surrounding countryside can be seen; this is no coincidence as the Villa was designed to be in perfect harmony with the landscape.
This was in complete contrast to such buildings as
Villa Farnese
The Villa Farnese, also known as Villa Caprarola, is a pentagonal mansion in the town of Caprarola in the province of Viterbo, Northern Lazio, Italy, approximately north-west of Rome. This villa should not be confused with the Palazzo Farnese a ...
of just 16 years earlier.
Thus, while the house appears to be completely symmetrical, it actually has certain deviations, designed to allow each facade to complement the surrounding landscape and topography. Hence, there are variations in the facades, in the width of steps, retaining walls, etc. In this way, the symmetry of the architecture allows for the asymmetry of the landscape, and creates a seemingly symmetrical whole. The landscape is a panoramic vision of trees and meadows and woods, with Vicenza on the horizon.
The northwest portico is set onto the hill as the termination of a straight carriage drive from the principal gates. This carriageway is an avenue between the service blocks, built by the Capra brothers, who acquired the Villa in 1591; they commissioned
Vincenzo Scamozzi
Vincenzo Scamozzi (2 September 1548 – 7 August 1616) was an Italian architect and a writer on architecture, active mainly in Vicenza and Republic of Venice area in the second half of the 16th century. He was perhaps the most important figure ...
to complete the villa and construct the range of staff and agricultural buildings.
Current conditions
In 1994
UNESCO designated the building as part of a
World Heritage Site.
The last owner of the villa wa
Mario di Valmarana(† Oct. 13, 2010), a former professor of architecture at the
University of Virginia. It was his declared ambition to preserve Villa Rotonda so that it may be appreciated by future generations. The interior is open to the public Friday-Sunday,
and the grounds are open every day.
Film
In 1979 the American film director
Joseph Losey
Joseph Walton Losey III (; January 14, 1909 – June 22, 1984) was an American theatre and film director, producer, and screenwriter. Born in Wisconsin, he studied in Germany with Bertolt Brecht and then returned to the United States. Hollywood b ...
filmed
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's opera ''
Don Giovanni'' in Villa La Rotonda and the Veneto region of Italy.
The film
The Film is a 2005 Indian thriller film directed by Junaid Memon also produced along with Amitabh Bhattacharya. The film stars Mahima Chaudhry, Khalid Siddiqui, Ananya Khare, Chahat Khanna, Ravi Gossain, Vaibhav Jhalani and Vivek Madan in l ...
was nominated for several
César Awards
The César Award is the national film award of France. It is delivered in the ' ceremony and was first awarded in 1976. The nominations are selected by the members of twelve categories of filmmaking professionals and supported by the French Mi ...
in 1980 including Best Director, and has generally been praised as one of the finer cinematic adaptations of opera.
Photo gallery
Image:Villa Rotonda front.jpg, Front
Image:Villa Rotonda side.jpg, Side
Image:Villa La Rotonda.JPG, Service corridor leading up to building facade
Image:Rotonda mantle02.jpg, carved marble fireplace mantel over a fireplace
Image:Rotonda broken pediment.jpg, Open pediment over doorway
Image:Rotonda ceiling.jpg, Ornamental moldings and fresco painting
Image:Palladio Rotonda seccion Scamozzi 1778.jpg, Palladio: ''I quattro libri''
Image:Palladio Rotonda planta Scamozzi 1778.jpg, Palladio: ''I quattro libri''
Influences
England
Five houses have been built in England based on Palladio's Villa Rotonda:
Henbury Hall, Cheshire
Henbury Hall is a country house about southwest of the village of Henbury in Cheshire, England. The present house was built during the 1980s in New Classical style, its design being based on Andrea Palladio's Villa Rotonda.
History
A hall kno ...
, is the most recent;
Chiswick House
Chiswick House is a Neo-Palladian style villa in the Chiswick district of London, England. A "glorious" example of Neo-Palladian architecture in west London, the house was designed and built by Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington (1694– ...
, Greater London, and
Mereworth Castle
Mereworth Castle is a grade I listed Neo-Palladian country house in Mereworth, Kent, England. This source attributes the plasterwork to Francesco Bagutti, but Giovanni Bagutti would appear to be more likely.
History
Originally the site of a ...
, Kent, are protected as
listed buildings;
Foots Cray Place
Foots Cray Place was one of the four country houses built in England in the 18th century to a design inspired by Palladio's Villa Capra near Vicenza. Built in 1754 near Sidcup, Kent, Foots Cray Place was demolished in 1950 after a fire in 1949. ...
, Kent, and
Nuthall Temple
Nuthall Temple in Nottinghamshire, one of England's lost houses, was one of five houses built in the United Kingdom generally said to have been inspired by Palladio's Villa Capra in Vicenza.
Only two 18th century examples remain: Mereworth Ca ...
, Nottinghamshire have been demolished.
Palestinian Territories
The "House of Palestine" (''Bayt al-Filastin''), built at the top of biblical
Mount Gerizim
Mount Gerizim (; Samaritan Hebrew: ''ʾĀ̊rgā̊rīzēm''; Hebrew: ''Har Gərīzīm''; ar, جَبَل جَرِزِيم ''Jabal Jarizīm'' or جَبَلُ ٱلطُّورِ ''Jabal at-Ṭūr'') is one of two mountains in the immediate vicinit ...
, which towers over the Palestinian city of
Nablus, north of
Jerusalem, closely resembles the Villa Rotonda. It is owned by
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
millionaire
Munib al-Masri.
Poland
Palaces built in
Poland based on Palladio's Villa Rotonda include the
Królikarnia
Królikarnia (in English, "The Rabbit House") is a historic classicist palace in Warsaw, Poland; and a neighborhood in the Mokotów district of Warsaw.
Since 1965 the palace has housed a museum dedicated to Polish sculptor Xawery Dunikowski.
Hist ...
(Rabbit House) Palace, the
Belweder
Belweder (; from the Italian ''belvedere'', "beautiful view") is a neoclassical palace in Warsaw, Poland. Erected in 1660 and remodelled in the early 1800s, it is one of several official residences used by Polish presidents as well as a state ...
in
Warsaw and the
Skórzewski Palace in
Lubostroń.
Belarus
The interior of the main building of the
Gomel Palace
, russian: Дворец Румянцевых — Паскевичей) is the main place of historical importance in the city of Gomel, Belarus. The grounds of the residence stretch for 800 meters along the steep right bank of the Sozh River. An ima ...
in
Gomel
Gomel (russian: Гомель, ) or Homiel ( be, Гомель, ) is the administrative centre of Gomel Region and the second-largest city in Belarus with 526,872 inhabitants (2015 census).
Etymology
There are at least six narratives of the ori ...
in the Eastern
Belarus is based on Villa Rotonda.
United States
For the competition to design the President's House in
Washington, DC,
Thomas Jefferson anonymously submitted a design that was a variation on the Villa Rotonda. Though
James Hoban
James Hoban (1755 – December 8, 1831) was an Irish-American architect, best known for designing the White House.
Life
James Hoban was a Roman Catholic raised on Desart Court estate belonging to the Earl of Desart near Callan, County Kilken ...
's
Palladian design for what would become known as the
White House was selected, the influence of the Villa Rotonda can also be seen at Jefferson's own iconic home of
Monticello.
See also
*
Palladian architecture
*
History of early modern period domes
References
Sources
*dal Lago, Adalbert (1969). ''Villas and Palaces of Europe''.
Paul Hamlyn, .
External links
Description of the building written by the Palladio Museum in Vicenza *[http://slurl.com/secondlife/Melioria/141/211/23/?img=http%3A//lh5.ggpht.com/_IqFPI3bgF78/Sp9KDaTE8tI/AAAAAAAAAGg/v3TteCorAag/s288/villa-vesuviana-dedication-pic.png&title=An%20interpretation%20of%20the%20Villa%20Capra%20%22La%20Rotonda%22%20in%20Second%20Life&msg=Virtually%20visit%20an%20interpretation%20of%20the%20Villa%20Capra%20%22La%20Rotonda%22%20in%20Second%20Life. Virtually visit an interpretation of the Villa Capra in Second Life.]
Architectural analysis of Villa Capra*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villa Capra La Rotonda
Buildings and structures completed in 1592
Houses completed in the 16th century
Renaissance architecture in Vicenza
Capra
World Heritage Sites in Italy
Andrea Palladio buildings
Domes
Rotundas in Europe
Museums in Veneto
Historic house museums in Italy
Palladian villas of Veneto