Roman House -- Renaissance Palace

Inventing Antiquity in Fifteenth-Century Italy

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by Georgia Clarke

Cambridge University Press

Due/Published July 2003, 352 pages, cloth

ISBN 0521770084

Many prominent patrons of architecture in Italy sought to identify themselves with ancient Romans in the course of the fifteenth century. Their exploration of antique models and sources was undertaken with architects and humanists and had a profound impact on the design, construction and refurbishment of city palaces. Georgia Clarke examines the fifteenth-century patrons' fascination with ancient texts and the physical remains of ancient Italy in this analysis of historical texts, architects' drawings and palace buildings.

Contents

1. Antiquity and identity; 2. Variety, magnificence and imitation; 3. The ancient houses - texts; 4. Discovering and recording ancient houses; 5. Creating allâantica palaces; 6. Conclusion: emulation and a new architecture.