The remarkable career of the architect Andrea Palladio (1508-1580) is largely due to an extraordinary moment of prosperity in the Veneto mainland, both in the city and in the countryside: a boom due in large measure to a little-studied revolution in manufacturing.

This book brings to light for the first time the architecture of these early industries, especially the production of textiles (wool, silk), mining and metalworking, paper manufacture, ceramics, sawmilling and leather-tanning.

The huge surge in patent applications to the Venetian Senate in the period highlights the parallel technological improvements in both efficiency and quality. Former proto-industrial buildings across the Veneto, studied at first-hand, reveal the efficiency of hydraulic power and smooth-running mechanical processes.

Water-power, a clean, renewable energy source, and structures made of natural, traditional materials, have much to teach today's civilisation.

About the Author

Deborah Howard directed the research project and is the primary author and editor of the book. She is Professor Emerita of Architectural History in the University of Cambridge, and a Fellow of St John's College, Cambridge. Her main specialisation is the art and architecture of Venice and the Veneto. Her books include Jacopo Sansovino (1975), The Architectural History of Venice (1980, 2002), Venice and the East (2000), Sound and Space in Renaissance Venice (with L. Moretti, 2010), Venice Disputed (2011), and The Sacred Home in Renaissance Italy (with A. Brundin and M. Laven, 2018). She is a board member of the CISA Andrea Palladio in Vicenza and a Fellow of the British Academy.

Awards
Winner of European Heritage Award/Europa Nostra Awards 2023.



Book Information
ISBN 9788833671819
Author Deborah Howard
Format Paperback
Page Count 288
Imprint Officina Libraria
Publisher Officina Libraria
Weight(grams) 990g