Monticello

The inherited plantation home and burial place of President Thomas Jefferson, Monticello was an extensive property with tobacco and mixed crops. Monticello: A Picture of the Past highlights the Italian Renaissance architecture used in the main plantation house, the history of the name Monticello, and Jefferson’s famous gardens on the premises. Designed by Jefferson himself, the mansion’s style was inspired by Neoclassical columns and structures made famous in the buildings of the Republic of Venice, largely designed by architect Andrea Palladio. As years passed, architects and historians found many unique aspects of Jefferson’s designs, such as portico entries, red brick construction, classical moldings, Chinese railings and octagonal forms. This style became known as Jeffersonian architecture. Coming from the Italian for “little mountain,” Monticello housed Jefferson’s private gardens, where he frequently experimented with crossbreeding plants to create new species. This would continue to be his primary hobby until his death. While thousands of people visit Monticello each year, most Americans know the building well from its appearance on the reverse of the U.S. nickel.