Serlio, Sebastiano

(1475-c. 1553)

   Architect from Bologna who trained with Donato Bramante in Rome. After the 1527 sack of Rome, Serlio moved to Venice where he lived until 1541, when he was invited by Francis I of France to his court to act as advisor in the construction of the Palace of Fontainebleau. Most of Serlio's buildings were destroyed. In France, only his Château d'Ancy-le-Franc (1544-1550) remains, which Serlio built for Antoine III of Clermont, one of the king's courtiers. This structure is built around a central courtyard, with a three-story elevation, pitched roof, and a square tower marking each corner. Though essentially French in form, the application of the Doric order on the façade and the emphasis on symmetry and simplicity are the hallmarks of Italian construction. Serlio's greatest contribution to architecture was in writing. He published a series of treatises on its various aspects. The first, published in 1537, was Book IV and dealt with the architectural orders, followed by Book III (1540) on ancient monuments, Books I and II (1545) on geometry and perspective, Book V (1547) on churches, the Libro Extraordinario (1551) on gateways, and Book VII (published posthumously in 1575) on accidents architects may suffer. Two versions of Book VI, on domestic architecture, and his Castramentation of the Romans, on Roman encampments, were known until recently only in manuscript form. Book III is of particular value as it was the first publication ever to include woodcuts of ancient Roman buildings, making them available to architects and humanists all over Italy and other parts of Europe. Having been translated into French, Flemish, and German, Serlio's books in general were responsible for disseminating abroad the Italian architectural vocabulary and design principles. Also, the profusion of woodcut illustrations in these books and the short explanatory texts facing them inaugurated a new phase in the architectural treatise genre. Serlio's method in fact inspired Andrea Palladio to approach his Quattro Libri in the same manner.