Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville

Lore & Background

Thomas Jefferson finished rebuilding Monticello in 1809, transforming an original eight-room Palladian villa into a 21-room house in the Neoclassical style he saw in France. The front elevation is a low horizontal composition centered on a columned portico and low dome, and the renovation more than doubled the house's depth while retaining most original rooms. Jefferson, an avid horticulturist, also created gardens at Monticello that served as a botanic showpiece, food source, and experimental laboratory for plants from around the world.

The University of Virginia was Jefferson's most ambitious and last architectural undertaking, departing from preexisting British or American college planning schemes. He founded it in 1819 as the first nonsectarian university in the United States, intending it to produce leaders versed in public service and practical affairs. The Academical Village exhibits a unique U-shaped plan dominated by the Rotunda, with pavilions, hotels, student rooms, and gardens arrayed in rows to its south. Each of the ten pavilions offers a different lesson in classical orders and architecture drawn from published classical models.

Reader's Guide

Monticello and the University of Virginia are directly and materially associated with the ideas and ideals of Thomas Jefferson, reflecting his wide reading of classical and later works on architecture and his careful study of late 18th-century European architecture. Together they invoke the ideals of ancient Rome regarding freedom, nobility, self-determination, and prosperity linked to education and agricultural values. Jefferson's use of an architectural vocabulary based on classical antiquity symbolizes both the aspirations of the new American republic as the inheritor of European tradition and the cultural experimentation expected as the country matured. Both works have drawn international attention from the time of their construction. The University of Virginia is considered one of Jefferson's greatest achievements for its architecture and innovative nature, being the first university to use an elective course system. The Rotunda, reconstructed in 1899 after a fire, retains many original Jeffersonian design elements and remains a physical embodiment of his legacy. The Lawn continues to serve as a model for centralized green areas on university campuses.

Did You Know?

• Monticello was rebuilt from an eight-room Palladian villa into a 21-room Neoclassical house between 1796 and 1809.
• The Rotunda at the University of Virginia is based on the Pantheon in Rome.
• The Academical Village exhibits a unique U-shaped plan with ten pavilions, each offering a different lesson in classical architecture.