Certainly Palladio’s most famous country villa is La Rotonda. Each side of the villa is identical to the other three, and the interiors open off a rotunda that soars from the main floor. The walls are sumptuously painted. A long low service building that borders the entrance drive houses the service areas that made the house function. La Rotonda has been greatly admired. Lord Burlington built a perfectly scaled version at Chiswick in western London and Thomas Jefferson borrowed elements of its design in Monticello, the University of Virginia and other buildings he designed. Washington, DC is greatly indebted to Palladio. Last visit to Vicenza La Rotonda was not open, but today we were pleased to have the morning here.
