Vincenzo Scamozzi: The Idea of a Universal Architecture

What Scamozzi seems to be offering is an apologia for the superiority of architecture, over the other arts, by arguing it is more of a science; and a more comprehensive treatment of subjects than his predecessors had achieved, as testified by the six books published running to 800 pages. His use for examples of villas and palaces he himself has designed is not so much self-promotion (which one suspects was the case with Palladio’s Second Book) as a desire to demonstrate that he applied his theories to his own practice.

Contents: Introduction by Ian Campbell, Vincenzo Scamozzi’s Idea in the Light of his Life, its Predecessors and its Fortune, BOOK I On the Most Celebrated Ancient and Modern Architects, and the Qualities Needed to Become One, BOOK III Villas and Country Estates in the Veneto: Vicenza, Padua and Venice, BOOK VI The Architectural Orders and their Application: Details, Proportions, and Measurements. Appendices, Glossary, Indices and an afterword by Wolbert Vroom.