Review of Becker, J. A., and N. Terrenato (eds), Roman Republican Villas: Architecture, Context, and Ideology (Ann Arbor 2012), JRS 104 (2014) 249. (original) (raw)
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The Loggia: Renaissance Revival of Ancient Roman Villa Ideology as Manifest in a Liminal Space
2016
of the ancient architectural form. 4 These patrons and architects, inspired by their studies, invented the villa loggia, a liminal space, which this paper argues evolves into an emblem of Renaissance suburban villa life. The ancient villa did not often have a loggia, but with this innovation, the Renaissance patron and architect created a perfect formal embodiment of villa life. The villa and loggia are neither fully rural nor urban, instead existing in both city and country as public and private sphere. The suburban villa is a conglomeration of city and country life, where reality and fantasy meet, and the loggia, which incorporates interior and exterior, manifests the dichotomy of a country estate, near the city and often used business and leisure. 5 Villas from antiquity forward have incorporated elements of nature into their design, whether on a grand scale like that of Hadrian's villa estate at Tivoli or in a lesser fashion as an enclosed space behind the residence. 6 These ancient landscapes, however, were largely unknown in the Renaissance. While Vitruvius focused only on villa architecture, other ancient texts instructed the Renaissance patron and artists on nature. Roman architecture's tabernae provides a similarity to the Renaissance loggias used for negotium; the space is a single-room inlaid shop, covered by a barrel vault. 7 In his letters, Pliny the Younger writes of the Ancient Roman desire to escape to a country retreat, both 4 Ancient texts like Vitruvius were studied and inspired a great portion of medieval and renaissance architecture, including the villa. Interpretations of Vitruvius' architectural treatise were implemented into public and private building. It was not until later, when excavation of Ancient Roman dwellings began, that Vitruvius' words materialized into spaces.
The exhibition Ville del Rinascimento Padano: I Bastioni, Il Portico e la Fattoria, curated by Alberto Faliva, presents eight little known 16 th century villas located in the valley of the Po River in Italy. Influenced by the layouts of villas found in unpublished architectural treatises and drawings, the designs are unusual in presenting what Faliva describes as "eccentric architectural works." 1 Situated in open countryside and commanding views of the surrounding landscape, the villas have a number of common, or similar, features such as surrounding moats and a central block or enclosure with corner towers or habitable avant-corps. These features are characteristic, as Faliva has noted, of such layouts as the quincunx designs developed in the 15 th century by Leonardo da Vinci, Francesco di Giorgio and others, all of whom were noted for their interest in fortifications. 2