Palladio and Concrete

Palladio was the first to provide a visual representation of an ancient concrete walling construction method using removable wooden formwork, which he termed maniera riempiuta, a method since used by modern and contemporary architects. The current study traces Palladio' s creative reading of Vitruvius, focusing on the afterlife of Vitruvian emplekton, since it seems to have been equated during the Renaissance with the maniera riempiuta. It also investigates the Classical literary and archaeological sources of the concrete walling methods proposed by Palladio, identifying a forgotten aspect of their enduring impact on European architecture until at least the early nineteenth century.