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Celebrated Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio (1508–1580) devoted much of his career to the city of Venice. Famous for public buildings he had designed in his native Vicenza and country villas he had built for wealthy patricians there, he arrived in Venice in the mid- 1550s confident of establishing a successful new practice. Yet Palladio’s Venetian career never matched his lofty expectations. Failing to achieve the position of state architect or to earn the kinds of commissions to which he was accustomed, he found himself working in a category new to his practice: ecclesiastical architecture. It was his stunning churches, however, including San Giorgio Maggiore and Il Redentore, that established Palladio’s lasting renown.
In this fascinating and beautifully illustrated book, Tracy E. Cooper organizes Palladio’s work in Venice according to different types of patrons. She discusses his major monuments as well as less well-known work for charitable foundations, convents, triumphal processions, and the rebuilding of the Ducal Palace. She tells the compelling story of an established architect breaking into a new market and of a Renaissance city in the midst of sweeping change.

Tracy E. Cooper is associate professor, Temple University.