Customer Reviews

The Villas of Palladio

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Finally a beautiful book about Palladio's architecture that deals only
with drawings and not photographs. I find this book extremely
interesting and absolutely beautifully produced. The format, the paper
and the quality of the reproductions give the reader a beautiful
chance to enjoy and admire the linear proportions and symmetry of
Palladio's architecture. More interesting is the fact that the author,
Giovanni Giaconi, did not concentrate only on the most famous and
well known villas by Palladio such as the Rotonda, Villa Pisani, Villa
Emo or Villa Foscari, Villa Pojana and Villa Barbaro, to name a few, but
with and obsessive research he measured and draw all the 32 existing
Villas planned by Palladio, also when some of them never came to a
conclusion.
And what's more important is that the Villas are drawn as they now
look.
Some drawings are really interesting like the one of Villa Porto at
Molina, with these ten free standing columns, or even more I wonder
how long it took to draw the very long elevation of Villa Contarini at Piazzola
in the province of Padua.
There are many books with photographs of Palladio's architectures, but this
is the only one with updated measured watercolor drawings and it's really worth a close look at.
Two thumbs up for the talented artist Giovanni Giaconi and to the
interesting and refreshing observations of architect Kim Williams.

I have waited many years for this book to come down in price and just recently it did and I ordered a used copy (in good condition) for myself. This is an excellent book that is a keeper for many years. Not only are the watercolor drawings are excellent but so is the accompanying text that goes along for every villa of Palladio. This book is a must for any serious architectural library or a collector.

This painstakingly precise and loving study of all of Andrea Palladio's 32 villas is a work of art in itself. In preserving the aspect of each one in watercolor, artist Giovanni Giaconi captures the villas in a very momentary way with the most transient of mediums... for me, this emphasizes even more the timelessness of one of the most imitated architects of all time. Whether you are a serious student or an admirer of neo-classical architecture, you will love turning the pages of this book over and over again... just like walking the streets of Vicenza, home of Palladio, you will notice something different every time!

This book is a work of art. Anyone loving this genre of Italian architecture should have this book. I found a used copy in decent condition. I am very pleased.

IF YOU APPRECIATE DETAILED DRAWINGS OF HISTORICALLY SIGNIFICANT STRUCTURES BY RENOWNED ARCHITECTS AND BUILDERS YOU WILL ENJOY THIS BOOK.

De delivery was best. The price was reasonable, but the cover was missing of this book. This is the only thing that disappointed me.