Book Illustration, The Architecture of A. Palladio, The Tempietto, plate XLIX

Palladio’s treatise on architecture is certainly the most influential book on architecture ever written. Thomas Jefferson referred to it often as “the Bible.” Palladio was drawn to classical architecture and took inspiration from the surviving buildings around Rome. He set forth a series of rules based on design and the necessities of construction. In his fourth book, Palladio included his drawing of the Temple of San Pietrus Montorio by Bramante who, in Palladio’s words, “was the first, who brought to light the true and beautiful ARCHITECTURE, which lay hid from the time of the ancients to his own …”