Andrea Palladio (1508 - 1580) is the world's most influential architect. He reinvented the architecture of ancient Rome for contemporary use, in the process developing an infinitely flexible system that could be adapted for different climates and societies.

His archive of drawings, transferred to England by Inigo Jones in 1614 and enlarged by Lord Burlington in 1720, was a source of inspiration to generations of British architects, who developed the style called Anglo-Palladianism.

In this talk, RIBA Chief Curator Charles Hind charts the journey of Palladio's message and how it reached all corners of the British Empire and became a vigorous style in colonial and post-colonial America. Only after 1945 did it cease to be a preferred style for public buildings in the USA, but to this day it has remained popular for private housing at all levels of society.

Part of 'Visionaries and Dreamers' Spring Last Tuesday - a whole night of talks, tours, film, events and live music inspired by the Spring Season: Ideas to Change British Architecture.