Piazzetta andrea palladio biography

Early Life and Training

Born Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola in Padua, the son of a miller, Andrea Palladio was lucky to be young enough to be unaffected by the warfare which struck the Veneto (the region around Venice) in the early years of the cinquecento.

In 1509, when he was six months old, the combined forces of the League of Cambrai defeated the Venetians at the Battle of Agnadello and overran most of the Veneto.

Piazzetta andrea palladio biography

Only a series of courageous military efforts enabled the Republic to regain its political viability. While in Padua, Palladio trained as a stone mason in the workshop of Bartolomeo Cavazza da Sossano. At the age of 16 he moved to Vicenza, where he settled for much of his life.

He became a pupil in the busy Pedemuro workshop, which specialized in stonecutting, and joined the local guild of stonemasons. His particular specialty was the carving of monuments and decorative sculpture.

Villa Architecture

Palladio's first works