This project deals with the influence of Vitruvius's De architectura libri decem on Palladio's treatise I Quattro Libri dell'Architettura, published in Venice in 1570, and will contribute to a better understanding of Palladio's approach to antiquity in general, and in particular, to Vitruvius's manuscript. In Palladio's relatively short treatise there are as many as seventy-two explicit mentions of the name Vitruvius and twenty-three reconstructions (in Books I–III) of ancient buildings described by Vitruvius in his work. The research assesses the legacy of Vitruvius in the making of the Quattro Libri, respecting issues of composition, style, and vocabulary, while considering its relevant connections to Palladio's architectural theory, including the Vitruvian triad (utilitas, firmitas, venustas), the concept of decorum, and the origins of classical architecture.

Louis Cellauro studied architecture at the Ecole d'Architecture de Lyon and the history of art at the Université Lyon-Lumière before moving to London, where he received a master's of art with distinction and a PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art under the supervision of Howard Burns. He has received several postdoctoral fellowships, and has been awarded a habilitation à diriger des recherches from the Université François-Rabelais in Tours (2006). He has published numerous articles in international academic journals, as well as a book on the seventeenth-century French architect Antoine Desgodets and his preparatory manuscript for the Edifices Antiques de Rome (De Luca, 2008). He is currently affiliated as a research associate with the Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes in France.