Palazzo del Te, 1526-34

Designed by Giulio Romano in Mantua for his patron, Federigo Gonzaga. The Palazzo del Te is a square building with 4 wings.On the textured facade, there are pilasters reaching from top to bottom.


In the entrance vestibule, Romano is making a reference to the origins of architecture via the rustic columns developed out of the unrefined materials of nature. Notice the contrast of the rough columns and the more polished coffering.
The entablature of the courtyard shows Giulio's less conventional way of looking at antiquities. He has used a doric triglyph pattern, but every so often one set is dropped, extended through the entablature. This might seem to be an arbitrary choice, but in fact it shows that the architect was looking at models which may not have been as well known. It is another example of the exploration common in Mannerist architecture.