In 2018, the historical annual course on Palladio’s architecture will be dedicated to "Palladio and Mantua". This is an effective way to flesh out and illustrate the intuition, widely held among specialists, of the key role of Mantua and its artists – especially Leon Battista Alberti, Giulio Romano, Mantegna and Bertani – in the great Veneto architect’s education.

Now in its sixtieth edition, since 1958 the Palladian course has attracted over 7,000 architectural historians, architects, engineers, art historians and students from 50 European, American, Asian and African countries to the Veneto region.

The participants on the seven-day course are offered the opportunity to visit almost all of Andrea Palladio’s works in Vicenza, Venice and the Veneto. This year, they will also spend two days in Mantua in the company of experts, visiting the works that exercised the greatest influence over Palladio’s architecture.

Programme

Thursday 30 August
morning
Lesson at Palazzo Barbarano, Vicenza: Guido Beltramini, The Life of Andrea Palladio
Vicenza: Palladio Museum, Palazzo Iseppo Porto, Palazzo Chiericati, Loggias of Palazzo della Ragione, Palazzo Thiene, monument to Lavinia Thiene in Vicenza cathedral, Palazzo Gualdo
afternoon
Lessons at Palazzo Barbarano, Vicenza [*]
Chair: Guido Rebecchini (The Courtauld Institute of Art)
Howard Burns, Palladio e Mantova
Francesco Paolo Fiore, Leon Battista Alberti in Mantua
Caroline Elam, Mantegna and Painted Architecture
Amedeo Belluzzi, Giulio Romano and Giovani Battista Bertani in Mantua

Friday 31 August
Mantua: church of San Sebastiano; Mantegna’s House, church of Sant'Andrea, Bertani’s House
afternoon
palazzo D'Arco, palazzo Te

Saturday 1 September
morning
Mantua: Cathedral, Palazzo Ducale, church of Santa Barbara
afternoon
Environs of Mantua: Porta della Cittadella (Porta Giulia), Corte Spinosa at Porto Mantovano, Cappella Castiglioni in Santa Maria delle Grazie, San Benedetto Po Abbey of San Benedetto in Polirone, Villa Pisani at Bagnolo

Sunday 2 September
morning
Villa Valmarana at Vigardolo, Villa Forni Cerato at Montecchio Precalcino,Villa Poiana at Poiana Maggiore
afternoon
PalladioLab (workshop) in Villa Gazzotti at Bertesina with Mario Piana and Damiana Paternò [*]

Monday 3 September
Villa Foscari “La Malcontenta” at Mira, Villa and Tempietto Barbaro at Maser, Villa Emo at Fanzolo,Villa Thiene at Quinto Vicentino

Tuesday 4 September
Venice: morning Boat trip on the Grand Canal, Church of the Redentore, Monastery complex of San Giorgio Maggiore, Monastery of the Carità
Palladio lab, Lessons at Palazzo Ducale [*]
Palladio a Palazzo Ducale: Howard Burns, Antonio Foscari, Gianmario Guidarelli.

Wednesday 5 September
morning
Vicenza: palazzo Da Schio; palazzo Valmarana; loggia del Capitaniato; Teatro Olimpico
afternoon
Villa dei Vescovi at Luvigliano, Villa Capra “La Rotonda”

[*] = In-depth lessons for university researchers holding scholarships, optional for the other participants