安德烈亚·帕拉第奥常常被认为是西方最具影响力和最常被模仿的建筑师，他的创作灵感来源于古典建筑，对建筑的比例非常谨慎，而其创造的人字形建筑已经成为欧洲和美国豪华住宅和政府建筑的原型。

帕拉第奥1508年出生于意大利帕多瓦，13岁时就给一位石匠当学徒，随后在维琴察一家石工作坊当助手。后来，在给当时一位主要学者特里西诺（Gian Giorgio Trissino）的别墅进行扩建时，他掌握了古典建筑的原理。后来，特里西诺就把石匠的名字改名为帕拉第奥——希腊智慧女神的名字。

截至十六世纪四十年代，帕拉第奥一直运用古典建筑的原理为维琴察的贵族设计了一系列的乡村别墅和城市宫殿，其中最著名的建筑之一就是卡普拉别墅（Villa Capra），也被称为圆顶大教堂（Rotunda），后来的罗马万神殿就是仿照其建成的。此外，他还设计了长方形大教堂（Basilica）。十六世纪六十年代，他开始转向宗教建筑的设计。

1570年，他出版了名著《建筑四书》（I Quattro Libri dell' Architettura），该书概括讲述了他的建筑原理，为建造者提供了可行的建议。2580年，帕拉第奥在维琴察逝世，他的著作《建筑四书》被翻译成多种语言，把他的建筑思想传向欧洲乃至全世界。美国总统托马斯·杰斐逊（Thomas Jefferson）在设计其位于弗吉尼亚的蒙蒂塞洛宅邸（Monticello）时，就借用了他的建筑思想。

Perhaps the most influential practitioner in the history of Western architecture and one of the earliest neoclassicists, Palladio created a singular corpus of architecture, the legacy of which is seen and felt in buildings of all types throughout the Western world. His theoretical and promotional treatise, I Quattro Libri dell' Architecttura, was first published in Venice in 1570 and sets forth a grammar of architecture. From building materials to residences to Roman temples, Palladio covered an incredible breadth of topics in his four volumes. This new translation in English, the first since Isaac Ware's of 1738, is simultaneously elegant and readable. The organization of the volume is immaculate: in addition to the informative introduction?which serves as a bibliographic essay on the various editions of the work?the list of illustrations from the 1570 edition, glossary, and bibliography all enrich the value of this treatise immeasurably. This edition also features the original woodcut illustrations, which are not as pristine as the engravings produced for Ware's edition but are carefully interleaved with the text. An important addition to academic libraries, architectural collections, and libraries collecting in the theory of art and architecture.?Paul Glassman, Pratt Inst. Lib., Brooklyn