Architectural representation in the spanish renaissance: some examples from the city of lugo

Abstract

In the times when the profession of architect was learned in the ambit of the family workshop and when instructions were passed down from father to son, repeating already known formulas was a regular practice for the master builder. In that context, the rediscovery of Vitrubio’s “De architectura” and the publication of the treatises of Alberti, Serlio, Palladio and Vignola represented a radical change in the understanding of architecture and in its form of representation, enabling master builders to put into practice the contents of the treatises, reinterpreting, although sometimes erroneously, the solutions provided by these great Renaissance architects and theorists. Our objective is to analyse how architects from a peripheral city like Lugo adopted the form of representation and understanding of architecture provided by the treatises during the final third of the 16th century.