What is it, exactly, that so many people fall in love with when they visit Venice? What makes this historic city quite so romantic, so magical? The lagoon and canals play their part, of course, but inarguably at the core of the Venetian charm is its stunning architecture.

In The Echoes of Love, my heroine, Venetia, is an architect, having studied and qualified at university. British by birth, she could easily have chosen to remain in England to pursue her career, but it is Venice that called to her – where better for a young, imaginative, talented creative to be based than a city steeped in architectural wonder?

One man, more than any other, can be credited with many of the beautiful buildings in Venice. Andrea Palladio, in a sense, is to Venice what Gaudi is to Barcelona – and yet his legacy dates back much further – he lived from 1508 to 1580. The Venetians were incredibly lucky that Palladio called Venice home and chose to create all his works for the Republic of Venice, so that Palladio will always remain inextricably connected to the cityscape.

Though he was entirely Venice based, the architect wrote a guide to architecture that was widely celebrated, and today he is respected worldwide as the most influential Western architect in history.

Palladio was heavily influenced by the greats of architecture, the Romans and the Greeks, and he read widely across the arts, sciences and classical literature. He was in fact born Andrea Di Pietro della Gondola, but his mentor, the scholar Trissino, rechristened him Palladio after Pallas Athene, the Greek goddess of wisdom – Palladio means ‘wise one’.

As Palladio grew into his vocation as architect, he developed a very particular style now known as the Palladian style. He built palaces, churches and, most of all, villas, using simple materials like brick rendered with stucco and classical proportions. Goethe called Palladio a genius, the British architect Sir Christopher Wren followed his style, and Thomas Jefferson was so taken with the Palladian style that the design of the United States Capitol building was heavily influenced by the Italian architect.

Here are just three examples of Palladio’s buildings in the Republic of Venice.

Church of San Giorgio Maggiore, San Giorgio Maggiore island, Venice

The Basilica Palladiana, Vicenza

Villa La Rotonda, Vicenza