PALLADIO’S VILLAS, by Paul Holberton (John...

PALLADIO’S VILLAS, by Paul Holberton (John Murray / Trafalg A r Square: $24.95). The 16th-Century country houses of Antonio Palladio set a standard for elegance that remains unmatched more than 400 years after his death. As Holberton states, “No other artist or architect achieved such a tight and tidy synthesis or such a workable and logical grammar as Palladio’s.” He argues that these noble villas were not designed to be working farms, but country estates. They offered their wealthy owners both a summer retreat and a source of oil, grain, fruit, etc.--in keeping with the old Italian belief that the best produce comes from one’s own plot of land. Although the text is a bit esoteric, “Villas” allows the reader to imagine life in gracious surroundings, unmatched in contemporary life.