Interestingly, President Madison is recorded as being the architect for the Portico.  Sir Augustus John Foster in an account of his ca. 1825 visit recalls that “Mr. Madison himself superintended the building which he had executed by the hands of common workmen to whom he prescribed the proportions to be observed.”  The design of the Portico also shows the strong influence that Jefferson had on Madison’s architectural designs.  Jefferson and Madison were both inspired by the works of Andrea Palladio and it is believed that Palladio’s work served as the principal inspiration for Montpelier’s Portico.  However, the next generation of owners of Montpelier would have their own ideas about how the Portico should look.