Dome

Detail of the upper south elevation; Palladio's structures 'alla Romana', erected to celebrate the entrance into the city of Bishop Ridolfi in September 1543, were in anticipation of the ideal Vicenza; after only a few minor experiments, the style passed from the status of ephemeral decoration to that of permanent construction. In addition to the loggias around the Palazzo della Ragione (also known as the Basilica; 1548) and the Loggia del Capitaniato (early 1570s), both public buildings, Palladio undertook many important projects for private clients, to be fitted into the urban fabric of the city in the course of four decades. At the beginning of the 1570s, commissioned by the Venetian government, he built the official seat of the Venetian military, the Loggia del Capitaniato, in the Piazza dei Signori, Vicenza, opposite his earlier Basilica. The design originally comprised a monumental loggia, probably of five bays, with giant engaged columns, although only three of the bays were completed. Particularly noteworthy in this building is Palladio's adoption of an unrestrained monumentality, which serves both to emphasize the building's functional importance and to make the parts appear more clearly as elements of a total design. The side elevation is designed as a triumphal arch to commemorate the Venetian victory over the Turks at Lepanto (1571). Source: Grove Art Online; http://www.groveart.com/ (accessed 1/26/2008)