ARCHITECTS AND LANDSCAPE-GARDENERS MENTIONED
ALESSI (GALEAZZO)
1512-1572
Though Alessi was a native of Perugia his best-known buildings were erected in Genoa. Among them are the Villa Pallavicini alle Peschiere, the Villa Imperiali (now Scassi), the Villa Giustiniani (now Cambiaso), the Palazzo Parodi, the public granaries, and the church of the Madonna di Carignano. He also laid out the Strada Nuova in Genoa. His chief works in other places are: the Palazzo Marin (now the Municipio) in Milan; the Palazzo Antinori, and the front of the church of S. Maria del Popolo at Perugia; and the church of the Madonna degli Angeli near Assisi.
ALGARDI (ALESSANDRO)
1602-1654
Algardi, a Bolognese architect, was also distinguished as an engraver and sculptor, and was noted for his figures of children. He built the Villa Belrespiro or Pamphily on the Janiculan, and the Villa Sauli, both in Rome.
AMMANATI (BARTOLOMMEO)
1511-1592
Ammanati, the pupil of Bandinelli and Sansovino, was one of the most distinguished Florentine architects of the sixteenth century, and was also noted for his garden-sculpture. In Florence some of his best work is seen in the Boboli garden and in the court of the Palazzo Pitti, while the bridge of the S. Trinità is considered his masterpiece. In Rome he built the fine façades of the Palazzo Ruspoli and of the Collegio Romano. The rusticated loggia of the Villa Fonte all’ Erta is ascribed to him.
BERNINI (GIOVANNI LORENZO)
1598-1680
Bernini, a Neapolitan by birth, was the greatest Italian architect and sculptor of the seventeenth century. One of his masterpieces in architecture is the church of S. Andrea al Noviziato on the Quirinal, and among his other works in Rome are: the piazza and colonnade of St. Peter’s, the Scala Regia in the Vatican, the Palazzo di Monte Citorio, and the fountains of Trevi and the Tritone; at Pistoja the Villa Rospigliosi, at Terni the cathedral, and at Ravenna the Porta Nuova.
BORROMINI (FRANCESCO)
1599-1667
Borromini, a pupil of Maderna, was, next to Bernini, the most original and brilliant exponent of baroque architecture in Italy. He was born in Lombardy, but worked principally in Rome. Among his best-known buildings are the church of St. Agnes on the Piazza Navona, that of San Carlo alle quattro fontane, and the College of the Propaganda Fide. In conjunction with Bernini and Maderna, he built the Palazzo Barberini in Rome. Some of his best work is seen in the Villa Falconieri at Frascati.
BRAMANTE (DONATO)
1444-1514
Bramante was born at Urbino, but executed all his early work in Milan, producing the church of S. Maria delle Grazie, the Ospedale Maggiore, and the sacristy of San Satiro, which he not only built, but decorated internally. In Lombardy the early Renaissance of building is called the Bramantesque style. Bramante’s works in Rome are: the Tempietto of San Pietro in Montorio, the palace of the Cancelleria, a part of the Vatican, and a part of the Palazzo di San Biagio.
BROWN (LANCELOT)
1715-1783
Lancelot Brown, known as “Capability Brown,” a native of Northumberland, began his career in a kitchen-garden, but, though without artistic training and unable to draw, he became for a time a popular designer of landscape-gardens. He was appointed Royal Gardener at Hampton Court, and laid out the lake at Blenheim. He was considered to excel in water-gardens.
BUONTALENTI (BERNARDO TIMANTE)
1536-1608
Buontalenti, one of the leading Florentine architects of the sixteenth century, was also distinguished as a sculptor and painter. He built the villa of Pratolino and carried on the planning of the Boboli garden. His other works in Florence are: the façades of the Palazzi Strozzi and Riccardi, the Palazzo Acciajuoli (now Corsini), the corridor leading from the Uffizi to the Pitti Palace, and the casino behind San Marco. At Siena, Buontalenti built the Palazzo Reale, and at Pisa, the Loggia de’ Banchi.
CAMPORESI (PIETRO)
B. ——, d. 1781
Camporesi, a Roman architect, is mentioned as working with “Moore of Rome” on the grounds of the Villa Borghese.