3.27.2008

Casino Pius IV, 1560-63



Commissioned by Pius IV, the Casino was built by Pirro Ligoria (1515-1583). This structure is something of an anomaly, since it is only meant to exist as a small house for leisure it does not extend to the great size of other buildings we've seen. It also belies several things, one-the number of stories, while it may seem that there are three or more there are only two. Also, while the exterior is sumptuously decorated, the inside is rather simple. What I believe to be the main interest here is the archaelogical approach to decoration, with the detail of relief. You can see that the surface is treated differently than other buildings, there is a sensitivity to the depiction of museum like findings and the 3 dimensional sculpture. Located in Rome, these two structures are facing each other on opposite sides of the oval courtyard. This layout makes an ideal setting in which to take advantage of cool breezes and the sounds of nature.

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