Domenico da Capodistria or Dominicus ( sl, Dominik Koprčan; literally, ''Dominic of Capodistria'') (1387 – c. 1463) was an architect and sculptor from

Koper Koper (; it, Capodistria, hr, Kopar) is the fifth largest city in Slovenia. Located in the Istrian region in the southwestern part of the country, approximately five kilometres () south of the border with Italy and 20 kilometres () from Triest ...

( it, Capodistria),

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia, ...

Life

There is only scant information about Domenico's life. He was born in Capodistria (Koper),

, studied in

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

and

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

, and reportedly was a pupil of

Filippo Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...

. By the second decade of the 15th century he was already a master. A tabernacle in the old church of

Rakalj Rakalj is a village in Croatia. It is part of the municipality of Marčana in Istria County. Culture Rakalj is home to a Chair of the . History The old part of the town of Rakalj is closer to the sea, and is mostly uninhabited today. In this part ...

has been attributed to him. Domenico later moved to Central Italy, where, in the mid-15th century, he contributed to the

Santa Maria di Collemaggio Santa Maria di Collemaggio is a large medieval church in L'Aquila, central Italy. It was the site of the original Papal Jubilee, a penitential observation devised by Pope Celestine V, who is buried there. The church, which therefore ranks as a ba ...

L'Aquila L'Aquila ( , ) is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy. It is the capital city of both the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 70,967 inhabitants. Laid out within medieval walls on a hill in the wide valle ...

. He might have been one of the artists who built the triumphal arch of

Castel Nuovo Castel Nuovo (; "New Castle"), often called Maschio Angioino (; "Angevin Keep"), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall ( Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and impo ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

. His name appears in the ''Trattato di Architettura'' by Filarete, who cites him as one of the artists who might have contributed to the creation of the imaginary

ideal city An ideal city is the concept of a plan for a city that has been conceived in accordance with a particular rational or moral objective. Concept The "ideal" nature of such a city may encompass the moral, spiritual and juridical qualities of ci ...

Sforzinda. Domenico's best known work is the octagonal chapel of

Vicovaro Vicovaro ( la, Varia, Romanesco: ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about northeast of Rome. History The area of Vicovaro was inhabited as early as the Neolithic period, as tes ...

, commissioned by Francesco Orsini, which he started in 1454. However, he was not able to finish the work, and the chapel was completed by Giovanni Dalmata. His works are distinguished by "simple and harmonious architecture," partly in the style of the late Gothic, also enriched by elements of the flourishing

Venetian Renaissance The Venetian Renaissance had a distinct character compared to the general Italian Renaissance elsewhere. The Republic of Venice was topographically distinct from the rest of the city-states of Renaissance Italy as a result of their geographic locat ...

References

Slovenian architects Slovenian sculptors Republic of Venice architects 15th-century Italian architects People from Koper 1387 births 1460s deaths Year of death uncertain {{Slovenia-architect-stub