Pavilion X and the Theater of Marcellus and Temple of Nerva Trajan
The design of Pavilion X is based on two classical examples. The overall design is based on the Doric order from the Theater of Marcellus shown in Roland Fréart de Chambray's Parallèlle de l'architecture antique avec la moderne (center image). The Attic parapet on the roof, which was original to Jefferson’s design and rebuilt during the 2010 restoration of the pavilion, is inspired by Palladio's drawings of the Temple of Nerva Trajan (Book IV, Plate VIII of Leoni's 1721 edition of Quattro Libri dell'Architettura), as it was the only example Jefferson could find with dimensions (right image). However, he stripped most of the ornamentation shown in Palladio's drawing, writing on the building specifications, “...that temple is overloaded with ornaments and it's [sic] pilaster frittered away so minutely in it's [sic] mouldings as to lose it's [sic] effect. I have simplified these mouldings to suit our plainer style...”
