Antonio Asprucci (20 May 1723 – 14 February 1808) was an Italian
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
.
Biography
Asprucci was a pupil of
Nicola Salvi
Nicola Salvi or Niccolò Salvi (6 August 1697 (Rome) – 8 February 1751 (Rome)) was an Italian architect; among his few projects completed is the famous Trevi fountain in Rome, Italy.
Biography
Admitted to the Roman Academy of Arcadia in 1717 ...
, the creator of the
Trevi fountain
The Trevi Fountain ( it, Fontana di Trevi) is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini and several others. Standing high and wide, it is the lar ...
, whom he assisted with creating various works.
Once independent, he worked for the
Duke of Bracciano
The Duchy of Bracciano was a fief of the Papal States, centred on lago di Bracciano and the town of Bracciano itself and ruled by a branch of the Orsini family with the title of Lord (from 1417) and Duke (1560–1696).
History
The Orsini ruled ...
and built a house for
Marcantonio Borghese IV in
Pratica di Mare.
He was one of the first to introduce
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism (also spelled Neo-classicism) was a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassicism ...
in Rome as an architectural style.
In many works, such as those located in the
Villa Borghese
Villa Borghese or Villa Borghese Pinciana ('Borghese family{{!Borghese villa on the Pincian Hill') is the villa built by the architect Flaminio Ponzio (and, after his death, finished by his assistant Giovanni Vasanzio), developing sketches by Scip ...
, he collaborated with his son Mario, also an architect. He was a member of the prestigious
Academy of San Luca
The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...
, where he was elected ''Principe'' (director) in 1790.
Works
Asprucci worked on many projects for the Villa Borghese, in Rome, including the landscaping of the villa's gardens, from 1782 for over twenty years.
His most famous work is
the small temple dedicated to
Aesculapius inside the gardens of Villa Borghese. This small neoclassical building with a
tetrastyle
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cult ...
ionic portico
A portico is a porch leading to the entrance of a building, or extended as a colonnade, with a roof structure over a walkway, supported by columns or enclosed by walls. This idea was widely used in ancient Greece and has influenced many cul ...
is located in the middle of the Roman villa's pond.
Asprucci's son, Mario, was commissioned to design the classical villa
Ickworth House in the Suffolk countryside in 1795.
Other works in the Roman villa include the church of Santa Maria Immacolata in Piazza di Siena and the reorganization of the Casino della Villa Pinciana, home to the Galleria Borghese, with the arrangement of the art objects contained therein.
References
Further reading
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External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Asprucci, Antonio
1723 births
1808 deaths
18th-century Italian architects
Architects from Rome