Abstract
Serlio's Book III is the first printed and illustrated book on antique edifices. It was a very practical source book for architects and their patrons. In contrast with quattrocento artists, Serlio comprehended the remains accurately. However it was based on the common knowledge of Raphael's assistants in Vatican. Serlio was greatly influenced by his contemporary architectural tendency even when he wrote on antiquities. In this book, some edifices with central plan, which is one of the most important idiom in Roman Renaissance architecture, are emphasized. His views on each remain based on his own taste, which I call "decent classicism". Some remains were neglected or censured since they were against his taste.
