Guiniforte Solari (c.

1429 Year 1429 ( MCDXXIX) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–December * February 12 – Battle of Rouvray (or "of the Herrings"): English forces under ...

– c.

1481 Year 1481 ( MCDLXXXI) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar). Events January–December * May 3 ** The 1481 Rhodes earthquake, the largest of a series, strikes the island of R ...

), also known as ''Boniforte'', was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

sculptor, architect and engineer. Born in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, he was the son of the architect

Giovanni Solari Giovanni Solari (–1482) was an Italian architect and engineer. He was born in Milan, the son of the architect Marco Solari, who was chief of the works of the Duomo of Milan. Giovanni Solari directed the construction of the Certosa di Pavia ...

, and brother of

Francesco Solari 240px, ''Madonna with Child'', church of Sant'Angelo, Milan. Francesco Solari (c. 1415 – 1469) was an Italian sculptor, architect and engineer. He was born in Milan, the son of Giovanni Solari and the brother of Guiniforte Solari. Aroun ...

. Guiniforte was chief engineer of the

Duchy of Milan The Duchy of Milan ( it, Ducato di Milano; lmo, Ducaa de Milan) was a state in northern Italy, created in 1395 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, then the lord of Milan, and a member of the important Visconti family, which had been ruling the city sin ...

during his life. He is especially remembered for his disputes with

Filarete Antonio di Pietro Aver(u)lino (; – ), known as Filarete (; from grc, φιλάρετος, meaning "lover of excellence"), was a Florentine Renaissance architect, sculptor, medallist, and architectural theorist. He is perhaps best remembered for ...

, who had been called by Duke

Francesco I Sforza Francesco I Sforza (; 23 July 1401 – 8 March 1466) was an Italian condottiero who founded the Sforza dynasty in the duchy of Milan, ruling as its (fourth) duke from 1450 until his death. In the 1420s, he participated in the War of L' ...

to modernize the Lombard architecture according to the new

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

styles. However, Solari represented the local

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

tradition. Buildings which he worked on include the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition not ...

, the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie and the

Ospedale Maggiore The Policlinico of Milan ( it, Policlinico di Milano) also known as Ospedale Maggiore di Milano or Ca' Granda Ospedale Maggiore Policlinico, is one of the oldest hospitals in Italy, founded by Duke Francesco Sforza in 1456. Today it is a modern ...

, and the

Certosa of Pavia The Certosa di Pavia is a monastery and complex in Lombardy, Northern Italy, situated near a small town of the same name in the Province of Pavia, north of Pavia. Built in 1396–1495, it was once located on the border of a large hunting ...

. Also attributed to him is the

Portinari Chapel The Portinari Chapel (Italian: ''Cappella Portinari'') is a Renaissance chapel at the Basilica of Sant'Eustorgio, Milan, northern Italy. Commenced in 1460 and completed in 1468, it was commissioned by Pigello Portinari as a private sepulchre and ...

, in the church of Sant'Eustorgio, Milan. He died in Milan around 1481. His son

Pietro Pietro is an Italian masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: People * Pietro I Candiano (c. 842–887), briefly the 16th Doge of Venice * Pietro Tribuno (died 912), 17th Doge of Venice, from 887 to his death * Pietro II Can ...

was also a distinguished sculptor and architect.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Solari, Guiniforte 1429 births 1481 deaths 15th-century Italian architects 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Engineers from Milan