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Jefferson and Palladio
Constructing a New World
23 September 2015 - 28 March 2016
curated by Guido Beltramini and Fulvio Lenzo
in collaboration with Fondazione Canova, Stiftung Bibliothek Werner Oechslin

Biographical note on Thomas Jefferson

1743 he is born at Shadwell in Virginia
1769 work begins on constructing Monticello
1771 he designs and starts to build the extension to the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg (never completed)
1775 the thirteen North American colonies rebel against Great Britain
1776 he drafts the Declaration of Independence
1776 he works on an initial design for the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond
1779 he is elected Governor of Virginia
1783 he is elected to Congress
1783 Great Britain is defeated and recognizes the independence of the thirteen colonies: the United States of America is founded
1784 he is sent to Paris as ambassador: he will stay there five years and will visit Britain, Holland and Northern Italy
1785 the Land Ordinance
1785-1786 he begins constructing the Virginia State Capitol in Richmond to his own design
1789 the French Revolution breaks out
1789 he returns to America and one year later is appointed State Secretary to the first president, George Washington
1791-1792 he collaborates with the architect C.P. L’Enfant on the plan for Washington D.C.
1792 under a pseudonym, he presents a design for the U.S. President’s House in Washington
1794 he modifies the design for Monticello: he removes the upper floor and doubles the size of the ground floor
1797 he is appointed Vice President of the United States
1798 he begins the construction to his own design of the house at Edgehill for his daughter Martha and husband Thomas Mann Randolph
1801 he is elected President of the United States
1803 he designs the house at Farmington for his friend George Divers
1804 he is elected President of the United States for a second term of office
1804-1807 he commissions Benjamin Latrobe to design some alterations to the White House
1806 he begins the construction of Poplar Forest
1809 he retires from political life to Monticello
1817 he begins the construction of the University of Virginia
1817 construction work starts on the house at Bremo, for which Jefferson offers advice and possibly some drawings
1817 he designs the Barboursville mansion for his friend James Barbour
1817 progetta la residenza di Barboursville per il suo amico James Barbour
1824 he constructs Christ Church in Charlottesville (demolished in 1895)
1825 the construction of the anatomical theatre, not included in the original design, for the University of Virginia
1826 he dies at the age of 83
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