The English Restoration period and the Italian Renaissance period are highlighted by many unique characteristics. Two great examples that portray the similarities and differences of these time periods are Belton House, designed and constructed in the 17th century by William Stanton and others in Lincolnshire, England (Harwood, Buie, et al.), and the Villa Rotonda, designed and constructed in the 16th century in Vicenza, Italy by Andrea Palladio (Harwood, Buie, et al.). The land for Belton House was acquired by the Brownlow family in 1617, but construction didn’t begin until 1684 with completion of the house ending in 1686 (Tinniswood, 76). Despite the abundance of wealth and prosperity of the family, they decided to build a farmhouse rather than an enormous palace. The building has since become an iconic symbol of elegance and simplicity, with a strong sense of confidence. On the contrary, sitting atop a hill in Vicenza, Italy is the masterpiece that is the Villa Rotonda. Built from 1565-1589, this immaculate structure was created as Venetian nobles were transitioning into a lifestyle of land-owning farmers (Boucher, 37). Although the building wasn’t designed as a farmhouse, its symmetry and beauty from every angle creates a sense of peace for anyone who sees its glory. Both these incredible buildings have much to dissect and look at it in terms of architectural design.
During the English Restoration period, some mesmerizing structures were built, one being Belton House. When Sir John Brownlow began funding the project in 1684 construction began and would take two years for the building to be completed. While it’s known who paid for the project and that William Stanton oversaw the project, it’s not completely understood of who all helped design the building. Possibilities include Sir Christopher Wren, Roger Pratt, and the most popular opinion is William Winde, as Belton House resembles other projects of his (Historic England - Belton House). William Winde was born in Holland in 1640 to parents of English descent. When he became of age, he moved to England to claim his rights in the form of his patrimony, and then served time as a member of the English military (Historic England - Belton House). Later, after his service, he began designing and modeling many homes in the English countryside. In his works, he used many architects and designers to help him draw plans for many of his projects, which may be the reason no one is quite sure as to who designed Belton House (Tinniswood, 84). Regardless, he is often held in high esteem along with some great English home designers such as Sir Roger Pratt and William Talman as the foremost architects of English countryside homes.
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Belton House is full of elaborate and mesmerizing architecture that truly flaunts the styles of the English restoration period. Modeled after the Clarendon House, in that it is shaped in the form of an ‘H’, this beautiful building took the design and made it even better when the designer gave it a double-piled design. The double-piled design simply means that the building is two rooms deep rather than having a singular room in depth, which allows for a more stable structure and makes the construction of the roof an easier task (Rowe, 23). Some additional elements of architecture for this building include symmetry, a central emphasis, and advancing and receding planes. The symmetry of the house, symmetrical along a singular axis, provides a pleasing look and establishes the presence of central emphasis and permits the building to flow well together. Another piece that expands upon the homes central emphasis is its topper, the cupola sitting atop the center of the roof. In addition, Winde incorporated advancing and receding planes in the front with the façade protruding from the home just a bit in certain places; in doing this the home has added depth and a more stimulating appearance instead of being flat. Furthermore, some unique characteristics that give Belton House its look include its roof and large sash windows. A balustrade, a cupola, and a series of dormer windows give the building a gorgeous topper, and the large sash windows in the back provide lots of natural light for the residents. In brief, Belton House is an incredible home with a plethora of beautiful characteristics and design tactics.
In contrast to the English Restoration style and Belton House, an example of the Italian Renaissance period is Villa La Rotonda, designed by none other than Andrea Palladio. Palladio was born in the northern part of Italy in a region known as Veneto. In his youth he was an apprentice of Padua architecture (Boucher, 12). He also worked as a mason for a while in Vicenza. His main inspiration for most of his work came from books written by Sebastiano Serlio. During his career he spent much of his time in the Venetian countryside building magnificent and elaborate villas for various people, but what remained similar in his designs was the use of symmetry and pleasing proportions (Berzal, 52). Palladio is world renowned for his work and highly regarded among architects of his time. As the designer of the home, Palladio supervised the build from 1565 until his death. One of his students, Vincenzo Scamozzi finished the home in 1569 (Berzal, 54). The inspiration for the building was drawn from religious buildings such as the Pantheon, which uniquely gives this rather secular building a religious twist.
The architecture and design of Villa La Rotonda is truly fascinating, and does a great job highlighting the characteristic staples of the Italian Renaissance period. For example, the building uses harmonious proportions to have a dual-axis symmetry. Such proportions usually were derived from classical Greek music, which was and is known for its harmonious and perfect proportions (Rowe, 31). Every room in the building is perfectly proportional to be the exact same dimensions. In addition, Palladio emphasized making the central rotunda the most important part of the building and the rest of the rooms somewhat highlighting it instead of overshadowing the room. The building also contains free standing columns. The columns portray the portico nicely and give the building a very beautiful façade on all four sides. Lastly, a unique characteristic of this time period is that the structure follows a geometrical shape, which was thought to be pleasing, in the shape of a circle engulfed by a square. To sum up, the building exemplifies Italian Renaissance styles and techniques and is a phenomenal example of creativity and beauty.
Belton House and Villa La Rotonda are filled with similarities, and a few are their classical elements, pediments, and central emphasis. To illustrate, the simple classical elements that both buildings contain are their symmetry and proportionality. On a symmetry basis, both buildings can be split down the center, and are architecturally the same on either side. In contrast, they are both proportionally sound in their designs and how they were constructed. Classical elements are a pleasing sight and give people a sense of harmony as they approach the structures. Furthermore, each edifice contains a pediment included in their respective façade. Pediments give the entrances a more astounding view and permits people to begin to develop a beautiful opinion of the building. Also, the buildings include central emphasis in their construction. With each building stemming from the center as the focal point, they open doors for other characteristics to come into play. Central emphasis highlights the entrance of the buildings from the outside, and on the inside makes the central parts of the house the important parts of the interior. In summary, each building has unique similarities that demonstrate how the Italian Renaissance and English Restoration periods are alike.
Even with the many similarities these buildings also have specific differences as well. For example, the façades are different in that Villa La Rotonda has four identical façades, whereas Belton House simply just has one prominent façade. Palladio designed Villa La Rotonda to be visually stimulating from any direction and Winde did not have a reason to design the building in such a way. In addition, the porticos are designed differently and gives each building a unique entrance. In continuance, while the symmetry is similar it is also a way to differentiate the styles. The Villa was designed with double axis symmetry while Belton House has a single axis symmetry. Lastly, the two buildings have substantially different roof designs. Belton House contains a balustrade and a unique cupola topping the structure. These features give the building a beautiful appearance and help mark the center of the structures. Villa La Rotonda on the other hand has no balustrade and is instead topped by a dome. The dome is a breathtaking addition and follows along with the geometrical shapes design that many Italian Renaissance period pieces contain.
In conclusion, while these buildings are similar, they have stark differences that distinguish the two well, and portray the differences that present themselves in the different eras in which each was constructed. To conclude, both the Belton House and Villa La Rotonda are exquisite masterpieces that exhibits great characteristics of the English Restoration and Italian Renaissance styles. During their construction they were known as beautiful pieces of art, and today they continue to be admired and loved. Thanks to the work of William Winde and Andrea Palladio the world is left with two astonishing and gorgeous structures that will be looked at for centuries to come.
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