palladio's plan for the villa very clearly marks each room with a number.ry particular relationships, that is, these are harmonic relationships harmonic proportions. the numerical representation of musical harmony-- musical harmony seen metaphorically on the largest scale as the harmony of the universe. so that in effect the barbaro family was living in tune with the universe. so in the villa at maser veronese reenacts the role of a painter from ancient times. palladio becomes a new vitruvius, and barbaro a new pliny, a patron in the roman tradition. but of course these scholarly games were being played out in a real world of political and economic change. the stability of the venetian empire was being undermined throughout the 16th century. by the late 1500s, the land holdings of the veneto had become more and more important to the venetian nobility. they invested in land reclamation which would feed them in the short term, but also protect them from the full consequences of a decline in their status as traders. as the century progressed, so did the threat