Giuseppe Sardi (1680 – documented until 1768) 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 ...

architect active in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. He was born at Sant'Angelo in Vado, Marche which was then part of the

Papal States The Papal States ( ; it, Stato Pontificio, ), officially the State of the Church ( it, Stato della Chiesa, ; la, Status Ecclesiasticus;), were a series of territories in the Italian Peninsula under the direct sovereign rule of the pope fro ...

. Known primarily for his church of Santa Maria del Rosario in Marino outside Rome, his name has been linked with the design of the façade of the church of

Santa Maria Maddalena The Santa Maria Maddalena is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, named after Saint Mary Magdalene. It is located on the Via della Maddalena, one of the streets leading from the Piazza della Rotonda in the Campo Marzio area of historic Rome. It is th ...

in Rome although his involvement with this and with some other building projects remains uncertain. He is not to be confused with the Swiss Italian architect,

Giuseppe Sardi (1624–1699) 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 ...

, who was active in Venice.

Career

In contemporary sources, Sardi is described more often as acting in the capacity of a ''capomastro'' or master builder rather than as an architect. He designed and executed only one church from scratch, that of Santa Maria del Rosario in 1712 in the

Colonna family The House of Colonna, also known as ''Sciarrillo'' or ''Sciarra'', is an Italian noble family, forming part of the papal nobility. It was powerful in Middle Ages, medieval and Roman Renaissance, Renaissance Rome, supplying one pope (Pope Martin ...

fiefdom of Marino, in the

Alban Hills The Alban Hills ( it, Colli Albani) are the caldera remains of a quiescent volcano, volcanic complex in Italy, located southeast of Rome and about north of Anzio. The high Monte Cavo forms a highly visible peak the centre of the caldera, bu ...

outside Rome. The interior is centrally planned and has an unusual and elaborately decorated dome. This is also his first known work. His work as ''capomastro'' is documented on the building sites of

Santa Maria in Trastevere The Basilica of Santa Maria in Trastevere ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Trastevere); en, Our Lady in Trastevere) is a titular minor basilica in the Trastevere district of Rome, and one of the oldest churches of Rome. The basic floor plan and ...

(where he worked under the direction of Recalcati in 1714),

Santa Maria in Monticelli Santa Maria in Monticelli is a church in the rione of Regola in Rome, sited on the street of the same name. A church was founded at the site in the 12th century and reconsecrated by Innocent II in 1143. It was known as ''Sancta Maria in Monticelli ...

(where he worked under the direction of Sassi in 1715, about six years before his conjectured work on San Paolo alla Regola, located around the corner) and at Santissima Trinità dei Pellegrini (under the direction of Francesco de Sanctis in 1722 - 23). Sardi is also credited with one other minor work, the refurbishment of the baptistery of

San Lorenzo in Lucina The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Lucina ( it, Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Lucina or simply it, San Lorenzo in Lucina; la, S. Laurentii in Lucina) is a Roman Catholic parish, titular church, and minor basilica in central Rome, Italy. ...

, executed between 1713 and 1721.

Although Sardi's name has been connected with several churches in and around Rome, one of the mostly securely attested of his commissions is the addition of a new façade to the church of

Santa Maria in Cosmedin The Basilica of Saint Mary in Cosmedin ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria in Cosmedin or ''de Schola Graeca'') is a minor basilica church in Rome, Italy. It is located in the rione of Ripa. History According to Byzantine historian Andrew Ekonomo ...

in the Foro Boario in Rome. This façade was erected in place of the previous Romanesque façade in 1718, and destroyed in 1896 – 1899 but its appearance is recorded in Giuseppe Vasi's ''Magnificenze di Roma'' (Plate 56) as well as in photographs . Also confirmed is Sardi's authorship of the façade of the

Trastavere Trastevere () is the 13th ''rione'' of Rome: it is identified by the initials R. XIII and it is located within Municipio I. Its name comes from Latin ''trans Tiberim'', literally 'beyond the Tiber'. Its coat of arms depicts a golden head of a li ...

church of Santi Quaranta Martiri (also known as San Pasquale Baylon) (1736–39). This façade appears to have been modelled on that by

Francesco Fontana Francesco Fontana (, Naples – July 1656, Naples) was an Italian lawyer and an astronomer. Biography Francesco Fontana studied law at the University of Naples and then he became a lawyer in the court at the Castel Capuano. But failing to alwa ...

for the church of Santa Maria ad Nives, Rome (Santa Maria delle Neve), located near the

Colosseum The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world to ...

, and erected around 1708. More contentious are Sardi's contributions to two other churches that had new (or renovated) façades finished in the period between 1720 and 1740. The first of these projects was the construction of a new façade for San Paolo alla Regola, a church which had been erected around 1687 to a design of Father Giovanni Battista Bergonzoni (called Borgognone), a teacher of theology at the college attached to the church. Vasi claims that the façade was the design of Giovanni Battista Conti, while Titi attributes it to 'Ciacomo Ciolli’ (Giacomo Cioli) and Sardi jointly. In sum, there is no scholarly consensus on how exactly the work should be divided. A similar problem concerns the attribution to Sardi of the facade of

which is significant as one of a limited number of facades in Rome displaying the

Rococo Rococo (, also ), less commonly Roccoco or Late Baroque, is an exceptionally ornamental and theatrical style of architecture, art and decoration which combines asymmetry, scrolling curves, gilding, white and pastel colours, sculpted moulding, ...

style, The facade was begun in the late seventeenth century and was still unfinished in 1734. Rossini's ''Mercurio errante'' (1741) and the 1745 edition of Roisecco's guide book do not mention the designer, although they do draw attention to the façade. The first mention of Sardi's involvement is in the 1750 edition of Roisecco's guide book. Scholars have long been undecided who should be credited with this design which has also been attributed to Emanuele Rodriguez Dos Santos. Too little of Sardi's work survives to permit attribution on stylistic grounds.Scholars have noted similarities between the style of the decoration of this façade and some cabinet work of roughly the same period, particularly the organ case of S. Maria Maddalena (designer unknown) and the armoires of the sacristy of S. Maria Maddalena, attributable to Domenico Barbiani. Alessandra Marino has recently suggested that the decoration of the façade should be attributed to Barbiani and that Emanuele Rodriguez dos Santos (architect of SS Trinità dei Spagnoli) should be credited as the architect of the façade Marino, 1992. In Marino's view, Sardi acted in his usual capacity of ''capomastro'' (master builder )

Career

References

Further reading