Alessandro Specchi (1668 – 16 November 1729) was an Italian architect and engraver.

Biography

Born in 1668 in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, he trained as an architect under

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634 or 1638–1714) was an Italian architect originating from today's Canton Ticino, who was in part responsible for the classicizing direction taken by Late Baroque Roman architecture. Biography There seems to be no proof tha ...

. He also specialized as an engraver and made a well known series of plates for prints of ''

vedute A ''veduta'' (Italian for "view"; plural ''vedute'') is a highly detailed, usually large-scale painting or, more often, print of a cityscape or some other vista. The painters of ''vedute'' are referred to as ''vedutisti''. Origins This genre ...

'' or views of Rome. As an architect, he was influenced by Francesco Borromini. His first major constructed work was the design of the Baroque

Porto di Ripetta The Porto di Ripetta was a port in the city of Rome. It was situated on the banks of the River Tiber and was designed and built in 1704 by the Italian Baroque architect Alessandro Specchi. Located in front of the church of San Girolamo degli Sch ...

, the port of Rome, on the banks of the River

Tevere The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Ri ...

or Tiber. With the design of this port Specchi broke with the classicizing architecture of his teacher Fontana. The port was destroyed in 1874 with the development of flood defences and the river bank road of

Lungotevere Lungotevere (Italian for ''Tiber Waterfront'') is an alley or boulevard running along the river Tiber within the city of Rome. The building of the Lungoteveres required the demolition of the former edifices along the river banks and the constr ...

, and replaced by Rome's

Ponte Cavour Ponte Cavour is a bridge in Rome (Italy), connecting Piazza del Porto di Ripetta to Lungotevere dei Mellini, in the '' Rioni'' Campo Marzio and Prati. The bridge also serves as a connection between and the area of Campo Marzio near the Ara Pa ...

, and his fountain at the top of the port was moved to a nearby site. In 1711 he became a member of the Academy of St. Luke, the artists' academy in Rome. As the papal architect, he submitted a design for the famous

Spanish Steps The Spanish Steps ( it, Scalinata di Trinità dei Monti) in Rome, Italy, climb a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church, at the top. The monumental stairwa ...

leading up from the

Piazza di Spagna Piazza di Spagna ("Spanish Square"), at the bottom of the Spanish Steps, is one of the most famous squares in Rome, Italy. It owes its name to the Palazzo di Spagna, the seat of the Embassy of Spain to the Holy See. There is also the famed Colum ...

to the French church of the

Trinità dei Monti The church of the Santissima Trinità dei Monti, often called merely the Trinità dei Monti ( French: ''La Trinité-des-Monts''), is a Roman Catholic late Renaissance titular church in Rome, central Italy. It is best known for its position above ...

, but the proposal by the little-known Italian architect Francesco de Sanctis was preferred by the French monks and the Steps were constructed to his design between 1723 and 1728. He designed and was involved with alterations to various Roman palaces: he designed the

Palazzo de Carolis A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

on the

Via del Corso The Via del Corso is a main street in the historical centre of Rome. It is straight in an area otherwise characterized by narrow meandering alleys and small piazzas. Considered a wide street in ancient times, the Corso is approximately 10 metres w ...

(now the headquarters of the Banco di Roma),the high altar in the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone S ...

, the Palazzo Pichini; and made alterations to the Palazzo Verospi and the Palazzo Albani, and additions to the

Palazzo del Quirinale The Quirinal Palace ( it, Palazzo del Quirinale ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, one of the three current official residences of the president of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporzia ...

. His design for the church of the Bambino Gesu was not carried out due to lack of finance and he added the upper facade to

Vignola Vignola (Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese: ; Bolognese dialect, Bolognese: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. Its economy is based on agriculture, especially fruit farming, but there are also mechani ...

's church of Saint Anne in Vatican.Blunt, Anthony. ''Guide to Baroque Rome'', Granada, 1982, for further information about his architectural works

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Specchi, Alessandro 1668 births 1729 deaths 18th-century Italian architects Architects from Rome Italian etchers