I Quattro Libri dell’ Architettura di Andrea Palladio. [The Four Books of Architecture].

Venetia [Venice]: Appresso Dominico de' Franceschi, 1570 [c. 1768]. One of the giants of Venetian Renaissance architecture of the 16th century, Andrea Palladio based his designs on the values of Greek architecture, and the traditions of Roman architecture as outlined by Vitruvius. He is regarded as one of the greatest architects in the history of Western art, best known for his villas (in the Veneto), as well as his palaces (Vicenza) and churches (Venice), all located within the Venetian Republic. His architectural theories were laid out in his treatise Quattro Libri dell Architettura (The Four Books of Architecture), which had a profound impact on building design throughout Europe and America. His style of architecture - a blend of Greek, Roman and Renaissance art, later known as Palladianism - accorded the greatest priority to maintaining symmetry, perspective and overall harmony, in the manner of Greco-Roman temple architecture, and was widely imitated during the 17th and 18th centuries.