Giacomo Leoni - Early Life

Early Life

Leoni's early life is poorly documented. He is first recorded in Düsseldorf in 1708, and arrived in England sometime before 1715. Between 1716 and 1720 he published in installments the first complete English language edition of Palladio's I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura, which Leoni entitled The Architecture of A. Palladio, in Four Books. The translation was a huge success and went into multiple editions in the following years (illustration, left) Despite Leoni's often eccentric alterations to Palladio's illustrations, his edition became a main vehicle for disseminating the essence of Palladio's style among British designers. The direct impact of Palladio's text was upon building patrons, for these expensive volumes were out of the reach of most builders, who could consult them only briefly in a gentleman's library. In 1738 Isaac Ware, with the encouragement of Richard Boyle, third Earl of Burlington, produced a more accurate translation of Palladio's work with illustrations which were faithful to the originals, but Leoni's changes and inaccuracies continued to influence Palladianism for generations.

On the frontispiece of his edition of Palladio, Leoni titled himself "Architect to his most serene Highness the Elector Palatine." This claim, however, remains unsubstantiated.

Leoni followed his Palladian volume with an English translation of Alberti's De Re Aedificatoria ("On Architecture"), the first modern book on the theories and practice of architecture.