Giuseppe Piermarini (; 18 July 1734 – 18 February 1808) 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 An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who trained with

Luigi Vanvitelli Luigi Vanvitelli (; 12 May 1700 – 1 March 1773), known in Dutch as (), was an Italian architect and painter. The most prominent 18th-century architect of Italy, he practised a sober classicising academic Late Baroque style that made an eas ...

in Rome and designed the Teatro alla Scala in Milan (1776–78), which remains the work by which he is remembered. Indeed, "il Piermarini" serves as an occasional journalistic synonym for the celebrated opera house. Piermarini was appointed professor in the Academy of Fine Arts of Brera, better known as

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...

, Milan, when it was formally founded in 1776.

Biography

Piermarini was born at

Foligno Foligno (; Southern Umbrian: ''Fuligno'') is an ancient town of Italy in the province of Perugia in east central Umbria, on the Topino river where it leaves the Apennines and enters the wide plain of the Clitunno river system. It is located so ...

, 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 ...

. He was Vanvitelli's collaborator at

Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of Italy. It is an important agricultural, commercial, and industrial ''comune'' and city. Caserta is located on the edge of the Campanian plain at the foot of the Camp ...

, 1765-1769, when he removed to Milan. From his Milan base he reorganized the

University of Pavia The University of Pavia ( it, Università degli Studi di Pavia, UNIPV or ''Università di Pavia''; la, Alma Ticinensis Universitas) is a university located in Pavia, Lombardy, Italy. There was evidence of teaching as early as 1361, making it one ...

(1770), for which he remodeled th

Old Campus The Old Campus is the oldest area of the Yale University campus in New Haven, Connecticut. It is the principal residence of Yale College freshmen and also contains offices for the academic departments of Classics, English, History, Comparative Li ...

and built the greenhouses of the

Botanical Garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens, an ...

, and the palazzo for the Accademia di Scienze e Belle Lettere, now Accademia Nazionale Virgiliana, at

Mantua Mantua ( ; it, Mantova ; Lombard language, Lombard and la, Mantua) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy, and capital of the Province of Mantua, province of the same name. In 2016, Mantua was designated as the Italian Capital of Culture ...

(1773), where he also designed the façade of the neighbouring

Teatro Bibiena The Teatro Bibiena di Mantova (also known as, among others, the Teatro Scientifico, Teatro Accademico or Teatrino della Accademia Filarmonica) was made by Antonio Galli da Bibbiena in 1767-1769 and decorated in 1773-1775 with a facade of Piermar ...

. He designed the interior of the Maria Teresa Hall of the Biblioteca Braidense in Milan With the Habsburg decision permanently to install an archduke at Milan, Piermarini was commissioned to reconstruct the ducal palace adjoining the cathedral as an appropriate city residence and to construct a wholly new country seat near

Monza Monza (, ; lmo, label=Lombard language, Lombard, Monça, locally ; lat, Modoetia) is a city and ''comune'' on the River Lambro, a tributary of the Po River, Po in the Lombardy region of Italy, about north-northeast of Milan. It is the capit ...

For the

Royal Palace of Milan The Royal Palace of Milan (Italian: ''Palazzo Reale di Milano'') was the seat of government in the Italian city of Milan for many centuries. Today, it serves as a cultural centre and it is home to international art exhibitions. It spans through ...

, Piermarini successfully avoided competition with the rich Gothic front of the cathedral with his sober neoclassical façade (1773–80) and created the Piazzetta Reale, as part of his urbanistic projects in the city centre. For the

Royal Villa of Monza The Royal Villa (Italian: ''Villa Reale'') is a historical building in Monza, northern Italy. It lies on the banks of the Lambro river, surrounded by the large Monza Park, one of the largest enclosed parks in Europe. The Royal Villa, which is a ...

, (1776 onwards), successive changes adapted the original pleasure villa to a seat of court. In 1779 Piermarini was officially named architect of the Imperial Kingdom, a position he had occupied in fact for several years. Over the years successive internal reconstructions have altered the interior of the Teatro alla Scala, so that only Piermarini's general plan, and his facade, are what remain of his designs. Piermarini's lesser works in Milan include the Palazzo Greppi (1772–78), the

Palazzo Moriggia A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome which ...

(1775), and the Palazzo Belgioioso (1772–81). At

Parabiago Parabiago (Milanese: ; la, Parabiacum) is a town located in the north-western part of the Metropolitan City of Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. The town is crossed by the road to Sempione (S.S.33) and MilanGallarate Railway; nearby flow the Olo ...

, his friend the successful cabinetmaker

Giuseppe Maggiolini Giuseppe Maggiolini (13 November 1738 – 16 November 1814), himself a marquetry-maker (''intarsiatore''), was the pre-eminent cabinet-maker (''ebanista'') in Milan in the later 18th century. Though some of his early work is Late Baroque in manner ...

commissioned him to erect a new façade for the Chiesa Prepositurale dei Santi Gervasio e Protasio (1780). He also designed the

Villa Tittoni Traversi image:Desio.1.jpg, 300px, Street façade of Villa Tittoni Traversi. image:Desio_villa_Tittoni_Traversi_vista.jpg, 300px, Garden facade. The Villa Traversi Tittoni, or Villa Cusani Traversi Tittoni is a rural palace in Desio, northern Italy. An ori ...

. In 1798 he returned to his native Foligno, where he effected some changes in the Duomo and prepared a project for the Cappella del Sacramento in the church of San Lorenzo at

Spello Spello (in Antiquity: Hispellum) is an ancient town and ''comune'' (township) of Italy, in the province of Perugia in eastern-central Umbria, on the lower southern flank of Mt. Subasio. It is 6 km (4 mi) NNW of Foligno and 10 km ( ...

. Among his pupils was

Giacomo Albertolli Giacomo Albertolli (1761 – 6 June 1805) was a Swiss-born architect who was active in Italy during the Neoclassical period. He was born in Bedano in the province of Ticino. He was the nephew of Giocondo Albertolli, a professor of architecture ...

, the nephew of Piermarini's collaborator in stucco decoration of palaces,

Giocondo Albertolli Giocondo Albertolli (24 July 1743 – 15 November 1839) was a Swiss-born architect, painter, and sculptor who was active in Italy during the Neoclassical period. Biography Albertolli was born into a family of artists in Bedano, a village 7 ...

. Giacomo succeeded him as professor of architecture in the Brera Academy.* He died in Foligno in 1808.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Piermarini, Giuseppe 1734 births 1808 deaths People from Foligno 18th-century Italian architects Brera Academy faculty Giuseppe Piermarini buildings