Travel Notebook of Vincenzo Scamozzi

While returning from a long Parisian sojourn in 1600, the architect Vicentino Vincenzo Scamozzi (1548-1616) described and illustrated the wonderful architectural features he saw along his route to Italy. His sketches, mostly depicting churches and cathedrals, consist of both floor plans and blueprints as well as gorgeous depictions of the buildings’ façades and interiors. They also reveal Scamozzi’s talents as an artist with a wonderful eye for depicting perspective and interior spaces. This notebook, which is currently stored in the Civic Museum of Vicenza, long lay undiscovered and did not surface until 1959. It is counted among the important discoveries of historic manuscripts made during the 20th century and gives a precious glimpse into the thoughts and idea of one of the most important architects of the Renaissance.

A Pillar of Renaissance Architecture

Scamozzi was a native of Vicenza and was active there and in the Republic of Venice for most of his career. His education as an architect began when he was a child and he learned his trade from his father who was a surveyor and builder. The numerous architectural monuments for which he is responsible mark him as the most important figure of Venetian architecture, second only to the great Andrea Palladio (1508-80). The two architects are connected by the Teatro Olimpico, a theater in Vicenza. Its construction was begun under Palladio, but he died only six months into the theater’s construction, and thus it had to be finished under a young Scamozzi between 1580 and 1585. In fact, this was only one of a number of unfinished projects that Scamozzi “inherited” from Palladino. Scamozzi also wrote several treatises on architecture and structural engineering that served to promote himself to potential clients in his lifetime before going on to influence the emerging Neoclassical style alongside Palladio.