Roman House - Renaissance Palaces
Inventing Antiquity in Fifteenth-Century Italy

During the course of the fifteenth century, many prominent patrons of architecture in Italy sought to identify themselves with ancient Romans. Their exploration of antique models and sources was undertaken in partnership with architects and humanists and had a profound impact on the design, construction and refurbishment of city palaces. In this study, Georgia Clarke examines the fifteenth-century patrons' fascination with ancient texts and how the physical remains of ancient Italy were understood. Theories of variety, magnificence, and imitation, based on classical writings, were essential to this enterprise, which found concrete expression in built architecture. Close analysis of ancient and Renaissance text, architects' drawings, and examples of palace buildings across Italy demonstrate how fundamental these different elements are to our understanding of both Renaissance architecture and its cultural context.

Awards

• Honorable mention for the Salembini Prize 2003

Reviews & endorsements

'Dr Clarke has provided a mass of useful material, organised in five chapters, with a vital concluding end-section. The generous number of illustrations fits well with the text. This is a thorough appraisal of antique texts, Renaissance theorists and patrons and their responses to Roman ruins in the building of 15th-century palaces. … this will be a useful book for advanced students of 15th-century Italian palace architecture and visitors to these buildings, who wish to know more about 15th-century ideas of antiquity.' The Art Newspaper

Customer reviews

Product details

• Date Published: October 2003
• format: Hardback
• isbn: 9780521770088
• length: 412 pages

• dimensions: 286 x 221 x 28 mm
• weight: 1.543kg
• contains: 178 b/w illus. 9 colour illus.
• availability: Unavailable - out of print May 2006