Analyzing the letters of architect Luigi Vanvitelli (1700––1773), Robin L. Thomas reconstructs his library and explores his prolific reading. From the Library to the Printing Press: Luigi Vanvitelli's Life with Books demonstrates how Vanvitelli's books influenced his architectural practice and, conversely, how his opinions and tastes conditioned the ways he read. Literary ideas of decorum explain the stylistic heterogeneity of his architectural oeuvre and influenced the way he wrote. His Dichiarazione dei disegni del Reale Palazzo di Caserta (1756), documenting the magnificent palace he designed for King Charles Bourbon, is among the most lavish books of its time. Its analysis illuminates how the architect interacted with the printed page and how books influenced architecture in the eighteenth century.
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December 2010
