Abstract

The dating of Palladio's Villa Rotonda by thermoluminescence (TL) has made it possible to establish a more reliable chronology for this building: Vincenzo Scamozzi's completion can be more accurately defined, and the early 18th-century interventions by Francesco Muttoni are proved to be far greater than hitherto assumed. The TL results, furthermore, give criteria by which to assess the relative value of various other documentary sources for the Rotonda, and so indirectly allow an image to appear of what the Rotonda was at its original completion and how it was used.