Andrea Palladio's Role In Medieval Times

Located in Dorsoduro of Venice, Italy, Il Redentore, otherwise known as The Church of the Redeemer, was designed by the Renaissance architect Andrea Palladio and was competed in 1592, twelve years after Palladio’s death. Inspired by classical antiquity, Palladio found centralized plans to be the most beautiful and pure form for a church, however, centralized church plans were impractical because the important arrangement of the high alter, the congregation and the choir could not be achieved.
Votive churches were typically built with centralized plans, and this was a point of conflict during the initial stages of designing the Redentore (footnote). Eventually, a longitudinal design was chosen, in part because it was better suited for the processions …show more content…
Like Alberti before him, he believed that “temples” should be elevated above the mundane world at ground level, with a flight of steps leading up to the entry (footnote). At the Redentore, this elevation also serves to create an impressive approach to the church, especially for those involved in the procession. Palladio designed the Redentore to fulfill the needs of multiple groups of people. The church had three main functions, and all three had to work in harmony with one another. The first was in the choir. This space served a monastic function for the members of the Capuchin Order, to which the church was assigned (footnote). The nave was congressional and served the Doge’s need for a grand processional space. The tribune and side chapels served the votive function. These spaces are clearly separated − the nave from the tribune by colossal piers that seem to frame the altar; the choir from the tribune by a screen, or exedra, of four columns that still allow for the passage of light. However, this sequence of magnificent spaces was not in line with the beliefs of the Capuchins, an austere offshoot of the Franciscan Order founded in 1520 with the goal of returning to the original tenets of