Andrea Palladio: Italian Architect Reading Answers

Dec 16, 2022

Andrea Palladio: Italian Architect Reading Answers comprises passages followed by different kinds of questions. These questions help test takers to holistically judge a student’s grasping abilities while reading. The topic “Andrea Palladio: Italian Architect Reading Answers” has been taken from the book: 101 Ielts Reading Past Papers with Answers. The IELTS Reading Practice Tests contain a variety of sample passages with different kinds of questions which will equip a student with all the possible dimensions of this section. This particular IELTS Reading Practice Test “Andrea Palladio: Italian Architect Reading Answers”, consists of the following type of question: True/False/Not Given, No more than one word. These practice tests should be taken with utmost seriousness to perform brilliantly on D-Day. These practice tests are available online at IELTS Reading Practice papers.

Check: Get 10 Free IELTS Sample Papers
Check: Register for IELTS Coaching - Join for Free Trial Class Now

Section 1

Read the Passage to Answer the Following Questions

Andrea Palladio: Italian Architect Reading Answers

A new exhibition celebrates Palladio’s architecture 500 years on

Vicenza is a pleasant, prosperous city in the Veneto, 60 km west of Venice. Its grand families settled and farmed the area from the 16th century. But its principal claim to fame is Andrea Palladio, who is such an influential architect that a neoclassical style is known as Palladian. The city is a permanent exhibition of some of his finest buildings, and as he was born — in Padua, to be precise — 500 years ago, the International Centre for the Study of Palladio’s Architecture has an excellent excuse for mounting la grande mostra, the big show.
The exhibition has the special advantage of being held in one of Palladio’s buildings, Palazzo Barbaran da Porto. Its bold facade is a mixture of rustication and decoration set between two rows of elegant columns. On the second floor the pediments arc alternately curved or pointed, a Palladian trademark. The harmonious proportions of the atrium at the entrance lead through to a dramatic interior of fine fireplaces and painted ceilings. Palladio’s design is simple, clear and not over-crowded. The show has been organised on the same principles, according to Howard Bums, the architectural historian who co-curated it.
Palladio’s father was a miller who settled in Vicenza, where the young Andrea was apprenticed to a skilled stonemason. How did a humble miller’s son become a world renowned architect? The answer in the exhibition is that, as a young man, Palladio excelled at carving decorative stonework on columns, doorways and fireplaces. He was plainly intelligent, and lucky enough to come across a rich patron, Gian Giorgio Trissino, a landowner and scholar, who organised his education, taking him to Rome in the 1540s, where he studied the masterpieces of classical Roman and Greek architecture and the work of other influential architects of the time, such as Donato Bramante and Raphael.
Burns argues that social mobility was also important. Entrepreneurs, prosperous from agriculture in the Veneto, commissioned the promising local architect to design their country villas and their urban mansions. In Venice the aristocracy were anxious to co-opt talented artists, and Palladio was given the chance to design the buildings that have made him famous – the churches of San Giorgio Maggiore and the Redentore, both easy to admire because the can be seen from the city’s historical centre across a stretch of water.
He tried his hand at bridges — his unbuilt version of the Rialto Bridge was decorated with the large pediment and columns of a temple — and, after a fire at the Ducal Palace, he offered an alternative design which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Banqueting House in Whitehall in London. Since it was designed by Inigo Jones, Palladio’s first foreign disciple, this is not as surprising as it sounds.
Jones, who visited Italy in 1614, bought a trunk full of the master’s architectural drawings; they passed through the hands of the Dukes of Burlington and Devonshire before settling at the Royal Institute of British Architects in 1894. Many are now on display at Palazzo Barbaran. What they show is how Palladio drew on the buildings of ancient Rome as models. The major theme of both his rural and urban building was temple architecture, with a strong pointed pediment supported by columns and approached by wide steps.
Palladio s work for rich landowner alienates unreconstructed critics on the Italian left but among the papers in the show are designs for cheap housing in Venice. In the wider world, Palladio’s reputation has been nurtured by a text he wrote and illustrated, “Quattro Libri dell’ Architettura”. His influence spread to St Petersburg and to Charlottesville in Virginia, where Thomas Jefferson commissioned a Palladian villa he called Monticello.
Vicenza’s show contains detailed models of the major buildings and is leavened by portraits of Palladio’s teachers and clients by Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto; the paintings of his Venetia buildings are all by Canaletto, no less. This is an uncompromising exhibition; many of the drawings are small and faint, and there are no sideshows for children, but the impact of harmonious lines and satisfying proportions is to impart in a viewer a feeling of benevolent calm. Palladio is history’s most therapeutic architect.

“Palladio, 500 Anni: La Grande Mostra” is at Palazzo Barbaran da Porto, Vicenza, until January 6th 2009. The exhibition continues at the Royal Academy of Arts, London, from January 31st to April 13th, and travels afterwards to Barcelona and Madrid.

Section 2

Solution With Explanation

Do the following statements agree with the information given in Reading Passage 1?
In boxes 1-7 on your answer sheet write:

TRUE if the statement agrees with the information
FALSE if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN if there is no information on this

The building where the exhibition is staged has been newly renovated.

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: There is no such information provided in the passage by the author. Hence, Not Given is the correct answer.

Palazzo Barbaran da Porto typically represents Palladio’s design.

Answer: True

Supporting Sentence: The exhibition has the special advantage of being held in one of Palladio’s buildings, Palazzo Barbaran da Porto.
Keyword: Palladian trademark, Palladio’s buildings
Keyword Location: Section B, 1st Line
Explanation: The author in the first line states that Palazzo Barbaran da Porto has been designed by Palladio. The author then goes on to describe the features of the architectural design, describing it as “a Palladian trademark”. This means that Palazzo Barbaran da Porto represents Palladio’s design.

Palladio’s father worked as an architect.

Answer: False

Supporting Sentence: Palladio’s father was a miller who settled in Vicenza, where the young Andrea was apprenticed to a skilled stonemason
Keyword: Palladio’s father, miller
Keyword Location: Section C, 1st Line
Explanation: The passage clearly states that Palladio’s father was a miller. He was settled in Vicenza. Andrea was employed as an apprentice to an expert stonemason while Palladio's father. This means that he was not an architect.

Palladio’s family refused to pay for his architectural studies

Answer: Not Given
Explanation: The passage does not provide such information. Hence, Not Given is the correct answer.

Palladio’s alternative design for the Ducal Palace in Venice was based on an English building.

Answer: False

Supporting Sentence: He tried his hand at bridges – his unbuilt version of the Rialto Bridge was decorated with the large pediment and columns of a temple – and, after a fire at the Ducal Palace, he offered an alternative design which bears an uncanny resemblance to the Banqueting House in Whitehall in London.
Keyword: Ducal Palace, alternative design, uncanny resemblance, disciple
Keyword Location: Section E, 1st Line
Explanation: After a fire incident at the Ducal Palace, Andrea Palladio was compelled to come up with a new layout. The design was strikingly similar to the Banqueting House in Whitehall in London, which was designed by one of the first foreign disciples of Palladio named Inigo Jones.

Palladio designed both wealthy and poor people.

Answer: True

Supporting Sentence: Palladio’s work for rich landowners alienates unreconstructed critics on the Italian left, but among the papers in the show are designed for cheap housing in Venice.
Keyword: Palladio, work, rich landowner, designed, cheap housing
Keyword Location: Section G, 1st Line
Explanation: The author says that Palladio worked for the rich. Along with that, Palladio’s masterpieces not only include his work for the rich landlords but also display the designs for low-cost dwellings in Venice. Hence, the design is for both wealthy and poor people.

The exhibition includes paintings of people by famous artists

Answer: True

Supporting Sentence: Vicenza’s show contains detailed models of the major buildings and is leavened by portraits of Palladio’s teachers and clients by Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto; the paintings of his Venetian buildings are all by Canaletto, no less.
Keyword: show, contains, portraits, Palladio’s teachers, Veronese, Tintoretto, Titian
Keyword Location: Section H, 1st Line
Explanation: The passage states the names of various paintings by famous artists. The show in Vicenza not only contains blueprints of significant structures but it is also graced by portraits of famous renowned artists such as Palladio’s teacher, Titian, Veronese and Tintoretto to name a few. Hence, the statement is True.

Questions 8-13
Answer the questions below
Choose NO MORE THAN THREE WORDS from the passage for each answer.
Write your answers in boxes 8-13 on your answer sheet

What job was Palladio training for before he became an architect?

Answer: Stonemason
Supporting Sentence: Palladio’s father was a miller who settled in Vicenza, where the young Andrea was apprenticed to a skilled stonemason
Keyword: Andrea, apprenticed, skilled stonemason
Keyword Location: Section C, 1st Line
Explanation: The passage states that Andrea Palladio’s family was settled in Vicenza. He did training under a competent stonemason. Hence, Stoneman is the correct answer.

Who arranged Palladio’s architectural studies?

Answer: Gian Giorgio Trissino

Supporting Sentence: He was plainly intelligent, and lucky enough to come across a rich patron, Gian Giorgio Trissino, a landowner and scholar, who organized his education, taking him to Rome in the 1540s, where he studied the masterpieces of classical Roman and Greek architecture and the work of other influential architects of the time, such as Donato Bramante and Raphael.
Keyword: Gian Giorgio Trissino, organized, education, Rome
Keyword Location: Section C, 4th Line
Explanation: As per the author Palladio was lucky as he came in contact with Gian Giorgio Trissino. He was a wealthy patron who sponsored Palladio’s education in Rome in the 1540s to study the masterpieces of classical Roman and Greek art. This makes Gian Giorgio Trissino the correct answer.

Who was the first non-Italian architect influenced by Palladio?

Answer: Inigo Jones

Supporting Sentence: Since it was designed by Inigo Jones, Palladio’s first foreign disciple, this is not as surprising as it sounds.
Keyword: Inigo Jones, foreign, disciple
Keyword Location: Section E, 2nd Line
Explanation: The author states that Palladio’s first foreign disciple, Inigo Jones, designed the Banqueting House in Whitehall in London. This means Inigo Jones was his first foreign diciple.

What type of Ancient Roman buildings most heavily influenced Palladio’s work?

Answer: Temple
Supporting Sentence: The major theme of both his rural and urban building was temple architecture, with a strong pointed pediment supported by columns and approached by wide steps.
Keywords: building, temple architecture
Keyword Location: Section F, 4th Line
Explanation: Temple architecture was a key element in both Palladio’s rural and urban construction, with a strong pointed pediment supported by columns and accessed by wide stairs.

What did Palladio write that strengthened his reputation?

Answer: Quattro Libri dell’ Architettura
Supporting Sentence: In the wider world, Palladio’s reputation has been nurtured by a text he wrote and illustrated, “Quattro Libri dell’ Architettura”.
Keyword: Palladio’s reputation, text, wrote, illustrated, Quattro Libri dell’ Architettura
Keyword Location: Section G, 2nd Line
Explanation: As per the author, Palladio's legacy has been bolstered by the "Quattro Libri dell' Architettura," a treatise he composed and illustrated. This strengthened and increased his reputation.

In the writer’s opinion, what feeling will visitors to the exhibition experience?

Answer: benevolent calm
Supporting Sentence: This is an uncompromising exhibition; many of the drawings are small and faint, and there are no sideshows for children, but the impact of harmonious lines and satisfying proportions is to impart in a viewer a feeling of benevolent calm.
Keywords: Exhibition, harmonious lines, satisfying proportion, viewer, benevolent calm
Keyword Location: Section H, 2nd Line
Explanation: Although many of the drawings in the moving exhibition are little and faint, and there are no sideshows for children, the impact of harmonious lines and satisfying proportions is to instill a sense of benevolent calm in the viewer.

Read More IELTS Reading Related Samples