Behind the Façade: Elias Holl and the Italian Influence on Building Techniques in Augsburg

The question of how Italian Renaissance architecture was takenup in other European countries has been the subject of numerousstudies. One interesting example is the building activity in southGermany at the beginning of the 17th century. Major cities like Stuttgartand Augsburg implemented plans for the renewal of significant publicbuildings in the new style. Figures like Heinrich Schickhardt and EliasHoll have been considered as representative of the spirit of the time,one of the key elements being their familiarity – to different degrees–with Italian architecture and Italy itself. This paper addresses the topicfrom a point of view so far mostly neglected: which elements are to befound behind the façade (in the less eye-catching, more functional partsof the building) that can be traced back to the Italian building practice?Looking from this perspective can help to better understand the way inwhich the master builders and architects experienced, perceived, andunderstood Italian architecture. Moreover, asking how far and underwhich conditions these techniques could be transferred in anenvironment characterized by different building traditions will deliversome clues about the interplay between the direct experience of thebuilding process and the knowledge acquired through written sources.[...]