Oval Fountain, Villa d'Este

For Renaissance Italy the myth of the ancient hero Hercules, and particularly his labors in overcoming the horrendous obstacles set him, became the prime example of moral fortitude, of virtù, for by the grandeur of his exploits he achieved immortality and joined the pantheon of...

The Renaissance revival of the villa as an architectural type was predicated in large part on ancient literary accounts and on substantive remains. The Renaissance conception of the ancient villa, however, was influenced more by literary descriptions than by what little was known of its physical form. The desire of Renaissance patrons to revive the rural otium celebrated by such writers as Cicero and Pliny usually provided the primary stimulus to the architects they employed. In spite of the …