Andrea Palladio (1508–1580)
I quattro libri dell’architettura
Venice: Domenico de’Fransceschi, 1570

Knyvett’s interest in Italian culture is exemplified by his purchase of the first edition of Palladio’s great book on architecture. Palladio’s influence over Italian architecture was widely known in his own lifetime, and he was commissioned by many of the wealthiest families of the day. Shown here is the Villa Pisani at Bagnolo, his first design of a rural mansion for an aristocratic Venetian (rather than provincial) family, incorporating the entire farm estate into a single elegant building around a courtyard.

A.16.38, Book II pp. 46–47 (Royal Library)