San Stae: Façade

For the important Baroque church of Sant’Eustachio, usually called San Stae, the architect created a fa�ade that is both rigorous and exuberant, combining the noble Palladian severity of four half-columns and triangular pediment with sculptural decorations and a striking portal. The elevation abounds with plastic decoration which to some extent interrupts the linearity of the design, especially in the broken tympanum over the main entrance portal. This clutter a structure that would otherwise be quite simple. In many specific respects, though, the architect has learned from Palladio, and his edifice descends from the sixteenth-century tradition, obviously watered down by later experience and trends in taste.