Much therefore had been already done to facilitate the operations of a succeeding candidate for architectural distinction. Materials had been amassed, and it only remained for a comprehensive genius to analyse them more closely, to modify them in detail, and to enlarge, by the exercise of a chastened fancy, the range of their combinations. At this juncture the subject of our memoir commenced his professional career.

Andrea Palladio was born at Vicenza, November 30, 1518. His parents are said to have been "in the middle rank of life;" in belief of which, Temanza discredits the traditionary account that he worked as a common mason at the Villa di Cricoli, and that the name 'Palladio' was bestowed upon him, as a kind of ennoblement, by his patron Trissino, who is said to have been his first architectural instructor. It is at least certain that, if Trissino taught him not, he assisted in stimulating his professional ardour. Vitruvius and Alberti appear to have been his early studies, and allusions are made to his proficiency in geometry and polite literature at the age of twentythree. The knowledge which he derived from books, far from satisfying, prompted him to seek a deeper insight into the details and the principles of his art; and, during several visits to Rome, he employed himself in delineating from admeasurement the ancient remains of that city.

Among the earliest testimonies to his growing fame, was the commission he received to make certain costly additions to the Basilica, or Hall of Justice, in his native town. The building, before alteration, seems to have been a dilapidated example of the Italian Gothic style. It was the opinion of Giulio Romano, who was also consulted on the subject, that whatever new work might be necessary to afford strength or supply convenience, the character of the old building should be strictly preserved; and the appropriate and unprejudiced idea of that architect merits quite as much praise as the realized design of his more fortunate competitor. But the romantic rage for the restored architecture of Pagan antiquity was too prevalent for the common sense of Giulio to find support; and the Græco-Roman arcades of Palladio were carried round the Gothic basilica, just as, under the same infatuation, the Corinthian portico of Inigo Jones was subsequently attached to the old Cathedral of St. Paul's in London.

Considering the particular arrangements and present mixed style of this noted Basilica to have been peremptorily insisted on by the public, we can then concede to Palladio the merit of an honourable conquest over difficulties. The adjoined wood-cut represents in simple outline

one of the seven bays or compartments, which form the longitudinal

elevation of the main building. The relative situations of the perpendiculars a to b, as well as their height, were unalterable. The heights a to c, and c to d, were also fixed. If, therefore, simple arches had been adopted, affording the required superficies of aperture, their limited height must have borne a very disproportioned ratio to their extended breadth. If columns had been employed alone, the great width of the interspaces would have been offensively opposed to the laws which govern that department of architectural design. The application, therefore, of the smaller columns is here most admirable. By this measure, a central arch of good proportions is obtained, and a sufficient supply of light is secured to the interior by the lateral openings under the imposts, and by the circular apertures above them.

In 1546 the building of St. Peter's church was in active progress, when its third architect, San Gallo, died. Trissino, who was in Rome at the time, exerted himself to establish Palladio as San Gallo's successor. It is well known however that Michael Angelo was appointed to that important post, and that he remains recorded on the scroll of fame as the most celebrated of the architects of St. Peter's.

In 1547 Palladio appears to have finally established himself as the leading architect of Northern Italy; nor was he less fortunate in opportunities for professional display, than competent to avail himself of them. Vicenza is literally a museum of Palladian design. Besides

the Basilica, already noticed, and the Olympic Theatre, which was designed after ancient models, he constructed the great majority of the private palaces, the proprietors of which were content to impoverish their fortunes, that they might vie with each other in giving scope to the talents of their architect. The churches del Redentore and S. Giorgio, with other edifices public and private, evince the estimation in which Palladio was held at Venice; and most of the. other cities in the north of Italy also contain examples of his genius. The country around exhibits a variety of his designs, among which is the Villa di Capri, called the Rotunda, which has been imitated. by the Earl of Burlington, at Chiswick, and by other architects in several parts of England. It stands upon a hill, and commands a beautiful view on every side. This was the architect's reason for adopting the four fronts and four porticoes.

Oppressed (says Scamozzi) by the multiplicity and fatigue of his studies, and distressed by the loss of his sons (Leonida and Orazio), he sank under the influence of an epidemic, which terminated his life August 19, 1580, at the age of sixty-two. The Olympic Theatre had only been commenced on the 23rd of May preceding his death, and its completion was intrusted to his surviving son Silla, who, with Leonida, had studied architecture. The Olympic Academicians attended their deceased brother to the grave, and gave public testimony of their feelings by the recital of funeral odes, and by the observance of all the " pomp and circumstance" consistent with the sepulture of so eminent a man. He was interred in the church of the Dominicans at Vicenza.

Palladio was no less remarkable for modesty than for professional eminence. The affability of his conduct won for him the perfect love of all workmen engaged in his buildings. He was small in stature, but of admirable presence; and united, to the most respectful bearing, a jocose and lively manner.

Palladio's Treatise on Architecture, in four books, published at Venice in 1570, has been several times reprinted. A magnificent edition in three volumes, folio, appeared in London in 1715; and another has been since issued from the Venetian press. He also composed a work on the Roman Antiquities generally, and left many manuscripts on the subject of military as well as civil architecture. He illustrated the Commentaries of Cæsar, by annexing to Badelli's translation of that work, a preface on the military system of the Romans, and by supplying numerous copper plates, designed for the most part by his sons Leonida and Orazio. He also studied Polybius, and de