Carlos de Grunenbergh, also known as Carlo Grunenberg (died 1696), was a

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

architect and military engineer active in the late 17th century. He mainly designed fortifications in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

and

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He was also a member of the

Order of Saint John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem ( la, Ordo Fratrum Hospitalis Sancti Ioannis Hierosolymitani), commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), was a medieval and early modern Catholic military order. It was headq ...

Career

In the mid-17th century, Grunenbergh worked in Spain with his brother Ferdinand. He was eventually appointed as the military engineer of the

Viceroy of Sicily This is a list of viceroys of Sicily: Aragonese direct rule 1409–1516 * John of Aragon, Duke of Peñafiel, later king John II of Aragon, 1458–1479, acted 1409–1416. * Domingo Ram y Lanaja, Bishop of Lleida 1416–1419 * Antonio de Cardona ...

, and he designed or modified various fortifications in the last few decades of the century, including the walls of Augusta, Messina and Catania. In 1681, Grunenbergh was invited to

Gregorio Carafa Fra Gregorio Carafa (17 March 1615 – 21 July 1690) was a nobleman from the House of Carafa and the 61st Grand Master of the Order of Saint John, from 1680 to his death in 1690. Early life Carafa was born on 17 March 1615 in Castelveter ...

, the Grand Master of the

. He made a number of improvements and modifications to the islands' fortifications. The improvements included the addition of batteries to the

fortifications of Valletta The fortifications of Valletta ( mt, Is-Swar tal-Belt Valletta) are a series of defensive walls and other fortifications which surround Valletta, the capital city of Malta. The first fortification to be built was Fort Saint Elmo in 1552, but th ...

and

Senglea Senglea ( mt, L-Isla ), also known by its title Città Invicta (or Civitas Invicta), is a fortified city in the South Eastern Region of Malta. It is one of the Three Cities in the Grand Harbour area, the other two being Cospicua and Vittorios ...

, and the construction of the Carafa Enceinte around

Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo ( mt, Forti Sant'Iermu) is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort ...

. Grunenbergh came to Malta again in 1687, and designed and paid for the construction of batteries and other major alterations to

Fort St Angelo Fort St. Angelo ( mt, Forti Sant'Anġlu or ''Fortizza Sant'Anġlu'') is a bastioned fort in Birgu, Malta, located at the centre of the Grand Harbour. It was originally built in the medieval period as a castle called the ''Castrum Maris'' ( en, Ca ...

. To honour his contribution, he was made a Knight of Devotion of the Order of St. John. His coat of arms and a commemorative inscription are also located at the fort's main gate. Grunenbergh directed the reconstruction of various fortifications in Sicily following the devastating earthquake of 1693, including the walls of Augusta and Syracuse. He also dealt with the urban reconstruction of the city of Catania. Grunenbergh died in 1696. Only one portrait of Grunenbergh is known. It is sometimes attributed to

Mattia Preti Mattia Preti (24 February 1613 – 3 January 1699) was an Italian Baroque artist who worked in Italy and Malta. He was appointed a Member of the Order of Saint John. Life Born in the small town of Taverna in Calabria, Preti was called ''Il Ca ...

, and it is now in a private collection.

Works

*Fortifications of Augusta (including Porta Spagnola),

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

(1671-1690s) *

Ligny Tower Ligny Tower ( it, Torre di Ligny, scn, Turrignì) is a coastal watchtower in Trapani, Sicily. It was built between 1671 and 1672 at a strategic position on the city's western coast. Today, the tower is in good condition, and it is open to the pub ...

Trapani Trapani ( , ; scn, Tràpani ; lat, Drepanum; grc, Δρέπανον) is a city and municipality (''comune'') on the west coast of Sicily, in Italy. It is the capital of the Province of Trapani. Founded by Elymians, the city is still an imp ...

, Sicily (1671) *Fortifications of Siracusa, Sicily (1673 onwards) * Real Cittadella, Messina, Sicily (1680-1686) *Carafa Enceinte in

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 wa ...

(1687 onwards) *Batteries within the

and

, Malta (1680s) *Batteries and other major alterations to

Birgu Birgu ( mt, Il-Birgu , it, Vittoriosa), also known by its title Città Vittoriosa ("''Victorious City''"), is an old fortified city on the south side of the Grand Harbour in the South Eastern Region of Malta. The city occupies a promontory of ...

, Malta (1689-1691)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grunenbergh, Carlos de Year of birth missing 1696 deaths Flemish Baroque architects Flemish military engineers Architects of the Spanish Netherlands Engineers of the Spanish Netherlands Knights of Malta