Seite - 513 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Band 1

513The Neugebäude of both groups, he was well placed to mediate in case of misunderstandings, and to help find efficient solutions to practical problems. So Jacopo Strada was involved in the realization of the Neugebäude complex in three ways. In the first place he made available his huge collection of visual documentation of ancient Roman architecture and of contemporary Italian architecture, which itself was strongly inspired by classical Antiquity, and from the 1540s onward the style generally preferred by a cosmopolitan avant-garde consisting of princes and a happy few of their close associates. In the second place Strada provided expert advice: on the basis of his own ample first-hand experience of ancient and contemporary architecture he commented on the designs prepared for the project; this may have included technical advice, for instance on the waterworks necessary for the various fountains. In the third place he prepared at least one—but probably more—designs for the project himself. When in his letter to Archduke Ernest Strada claimed that Maximilian ‘con- tinually had employed him in his building projects’, that statement must have had at least some foundation in fact. Strada’s principal task as Imperial archi- tect must have been to inspire and critically follow the imperial building proj- ects, and advise on them both informally and formally in the manner described above. The palace ‘in the manner of Rome or Naples’ Strada offered to design for the Archduke reads almost as a succinct description of the Neugebäude: not only is its design in accordance with up to date, Italianate architecture, but it is provided with ‘beautiful gardens, fishponds, fountains and other delights that are suitable for a great Prince such as Your Highness’.127 He could offer that with such assurance because earlier he had been involved in the realization of Maximilian’s most prestigious project, the Neugebäude. 127 Doc. 1579-05-00 (Strada to Archduke Ernest); the letter quoted and discussed in Ch. 4.4.1.