Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, Vicenza 1569

Curator: It looms, doesn’t it? This Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, snapped around 1569, just screams seriousness and history. So…what grabs you first? Editor: It feels like a fortress pretending to be a palace, a long, slightly grumpy row of pillars and heavily lidded windows. Almost as if it is pondering how long humans have had to scurry below it. Melancholy stone, utterly imposing. Curator: Exactly! Palladio designed it for a noble family in Vicenza to show their status in the community and, well, he was riffing hard on Classical Roman architecture. Makes you think about how the image of power translates through buildings, even centuries later. Editor: Oh, the old “borrowing” trick! I suppose all artists and builders “borrow” something, but is this really Palladio flexing creative muscles or more like quoting verbatim from Vitruvius with a bigger budget? Still, the details, the relief work just above the main level... hints of elegance soften the severe effect. Curator: It's more than just copying, I think. It's about re-imagining those forms. Those perfectly placed columns... that’s engineering showing off! Plus, the palazzo itself played a crucial role in turning Vicenza into a hotspot for Renaissance architecture, with Palladio becoming an in-demand celebrity. His projects became political statements. Editor: True, I get a sense of Renaissance big ego project about it. Building and strutting in the most imposing stonework money could buy. I’m also amused at how something originally built to impress feels sort of subdued in this photo... It feels older than its age; or rather, older than how old that architectural language felt at the time. Curator: Ha, I see what you mean about the "grand old man" feel. Well, next time you’re in Vicenza, stand in front of this masterpiece and soak in how architecture really can solidify ideas and make them last, and just how clever old Palladio actually was. Editor: Definitely. And next time I’ll bring a stepladder to examine the stone-cutting, so that Palladio can give up its long held architectural secrets.