Giuseppe Benoni (1618–1684) was an Italian architect, active during the

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

period, mainly 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 ...

Biography

He was born either in Udine or Trento. He worked on a number of engineering problems for the

Venetian Republic 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, ...

. He appears to have moved to Venice at about the age of forty, and gained the title of "Proto" to the Magistrate of Water. In 1675–76, work began on renovation of the structures and decoration of the ''

Dogana da Mar Punta della Dogana is an art museum in one of Venice's old customs buildings, the ''Dogana da Mar''. It also refers to the triangular area of Venice where the Grand Canal (Venice), Grand Canal meets the Giudecca Canal, and its collection of buildi ...

'', the

customs house A custom house or customs house was traditionally a building housing the offices for a jurisdictional government whose officials oversaw the functions associated with importing and exporting goods into and out of a country, such as collecting c ...

across the canal from the

Doge's palace The Doge's Palace ( it, Palazzo Ducale; vec, Pałaso Dogal) is a palace built in Venetian Gothic style, and one of the main landmarks of the city of Venice in northern Italy. The palace was the residence of the Doge of Venice, the supreme auth ...

. A Venetian council on 29 August 1676 requested proposals for refurbishing the Dogana and received designs from Benoni, Longhena,

Andrea Cominelli Andrea Cominelli was an Italian stonemason, sculptor and architect, who was active in the Republic of Venice during the second half of the 17th century. Early years Little is known of Cominelli's youth. He was probably born in Venice in the fir ...

, and

Giuseppe Sardi (Venice) Giuseppe Sardi (1680 – documented until 1768) was an Italian architect active in Rome. He was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, Marche which was then part of the Papal States. Known primarily for his church of Santa Maria del Rosario in Marino o ...

. Only the former two designs went for further study by a committee formed by the following Procurators: Antonio Bernardo, Giovanni Battista Cornaro, Alvise Pisani, Giovanni Sagredo cavalier, Francesco Morosini cavalier, Leonardo Pesaro, Giulio Giustinian, Alvise Mocenigo IV, Silvestro Valier cavalier, and Alessandro Contarini. They ended seclecting Benoni's project, priced at 6000 ducats over Loghena's project costing twice as much. In a publication about the project, Benoni states:''dispostolo in maniera tale, che spichi e sia d'ornamento maggiore alla qualità del sito cospiquo nel quale deve essere eretto; l'ho fatto con l'ordine e legature corrispondenti al rimanente della fabbrica già cominciata e con le rustiche uniforme alle poste in opera; per render unita, e congiunta la fronte alli due fianchi ho insieme procurato non ostante la ristrettezza e irregolarità del sito di renderlo di gran fronte et di figura regolare, e che unitamente dimostri fortezza e sodezza. Ho considerato la distanza e siti d'ogni intorno da quali prendesi la veduta, et hauto mira l'occhio trovi in tutte le parti che lo circonda varietà di vedute da dilettarsi, et impiegarsi, al che servono gl'interculunnii che formano le loggie per transito, e comodo coperto, oltre, che quelle dalle parti fiancheggiano li canali fondamente e magazzeni'', F. Lazzari, pages 24-25.

(I have arranged) it in such a way that it stands out and adorns more than the quality of the conspicuous site in which it is to be erected... in order to make the distal end similar on both sides, despite the narrowness and irregularity of the site, I procured to make it front and regular in shape, and which together shows strength and firmness. I have considered the distance and sites of all around from which to take the view, and have allowed for an eye, in all the parts that surround it, to have a variety of views to be delighted, and formed... loggias to allow comfortable and covered transit from the sides flank the canals and warehouses.

The building was built with the views of the adjacent

Salute A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

in mind. The building has a rustication appropriate for a government office, much like

Jacopo Sansovino Jacopo d'Antonio Sansovino (2 July 1486 – 27 November 1570) was an Italian Renaissance sculptor and architect, best known for his works around the Piazza San Marco in Venice. These are crucial works in the history of Venetian Renaissance archi ...

's '' Zecca'' (or mint). It is decorated by two bronze atlantes who bear a gilded sphere surmounted by the goddess Fortune holding a wind vane.

Sources

Venetian heritage entry
1618 births 1684 deaths Republic of Venice architects Italian Baroque architects {{Italy-architect-stub