352 



THE GARDENS OF ITALY. 



366. VILLA DI MASER : THE MAIN APPROACH. 



were early patrons of Palladio. It has even been thought that it was through them 

 that the young Palladio was able to study at Rome, and thus to amass his great collection of 

 measured studies of the Roman remains. Probably, with Paul Veronese as painter, Vittoria 

 as sculptor and Palladio as architect, the two Barbaro patrons had as perfect and harmonious a 

 company as ever engaged in house building. In such good company Palladio may have felt 

 that there was compensation for a relaxed view of architecture. Suppose, however, that 

 Pirro Ligorio, northward bound on some journey, had looked in as a caller, Palladio, who must 



have seen the Casino del 

 Papa while at Rome, 

 would, indeed, have been 

 hard put to it in 

 apologising for his stuc- 

 catore. Of this group of 

 bright spirits Daniele 

 seems to have died first, 

 whereupon Marcantonio 

 \ i _i I engaged Palladio to build 



h - -* , 4Jr-4f4r ^H#*- p^th^ fa* SitS[ 



which stands on the high 

 road at the gate of the 

 villa. On the frieze of 

 the order of its portico 

 is an inscription in 

 large Roman letters. 

 Local tradition says that 

 Palladio died at the villa, 

 and left all his drawings 

 to the owners, and that it 

 was from their successors 

 that Lord Burlington, 



367. MASER, NEAR TREVISO. PLAN OF VILLA FOR D. AND M. BARBARO. trave U ln g ln Italy in the 



From o. u. Scamozzi. early years of 1700, 



