Visiting Palladio’s Villas in Venice and Vicenza, Virginia-Style
Kelli Palmer of the Office of the President writes in with photos of the recent “Virginia Voyage” to Italy, where a party of travelers from U.Va. — including President John T. Casteen III and his wife, Betsy — toured Vicenza and Venice. They were there to check out villas designed by Italy’s famed Renaissance architect, Andrea Palladio, whose work inspired Thomas Jefferson’s designs for the University and Monticello. (After viewing the 513 slides Palmer posted on Shutterfly, one might definitely conclude that Jefferson’s work was a little more understated than Palladio’s.) Pictured above is Palladio’s Villa Almerico, or “La Rotonda.”
Incidentally, this year marks the 500th anniversary of Palladio’s birth.
Earlier in October, a a group of alumni, parents, students and friends of the University 