Charlottesville's Sister City

I learned today that Charlottesville's sister city in Italy is Poggio a Caiano, a town in the province of Prato in Tuscany. The town is known for the Villa Medici (pictured below) which was commissioned by Lorenzo de Medici in 1484. The villa is open to the public.



Charlottesville also has a more visible connection to Italy. The Rotunda (pictured below) is the focal point of the University of Virginia and is also the highlight of the Lawn at U.Va.

The Rotunda was designed by Thomas Jefferson to represent the "authority of nature and power of reason." The Rotunda served for many years as the library at U.Va.

The Rotunda also happens to be an exact half scale of the Pantheon in Rome (pictured below), which inspired Thomas Jefferson's design of the Rotunda. The Pantheon was originally built as a "Temple of all Gods." Since the 7th century, it has functioned as a Christian church.

What is most interesting about the relationship between the Pantheon and the Rotunda is that when Thomas Jefferson was designing U.Va., he wanted a clear divide between church and state. Ironically, he used a religious symbol, the Pantheon, to inspire the design of the Rotunda. I think whenever I hear the word "rotunda" I will think of the Rotunda at U.Va. but the word rotunda can actually apply to any building with a circular ground plan (which often has a dome.)