Born in the town from which he takes his name, Vignola studied
in Bologna and moved to Rome in the 1530s. He made drawings of
Roman antiquities for a proposed republication of Vitruvius' De
architectura. In 1550 he was appointed architect to Pope Julius
III and designed the Villa Giulia (in collaboration with
Vasari). It was a summer villa based on the garden letters of
Pliny the Younger. In 1554 he designed the first church with an
oval dome (S. Andrea). After the death of Julius III, Vignola
worked mainly for the Farnese family. He designed the Villa
Farnese at Caprarola and was also involved with the Villa Lante.
Vignola was a dominant infulence on Mannerist gardens and
architecture.