Gioacchino Toesca e Ricci (1745–1799; known as Joaquín Toesca in the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy (political entity), Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered ...

) was an

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

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 worked at the service of the Spanish Empire, mainly in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

. He was mainly a Neoclassical architect although he also built

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

buildings.

Biography

Gioacchino Toesca was born in 1745 in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. He studied architecture as a student of Francesco Sabatini and at the age of 15, he moved to Madrid and later completed his studies in mathematics in Barcelona.

Chilean architecture

In 1780 he traveled to South America, to Santiago in the colonial

Captaincy General of Chile The General Captaincy of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ), Governorate of Chile, or Kingdom of Chile, was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818 that was, initially, part of the Viceroyalty of Peru. It comprised most of mod ...

at the request of the Royal Governor Agustín de Jáuregui and the

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Santiago Manuel de Alday y Aspée, who engaged him to design the ''Catedral de Santiago de Chile'' (present day Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral). In addition to this project he was also occupied in developing the plans for the ''

Palacio de la Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the president of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency, and General Se ...

'' to house the royal

mint Mint or The Mint may refer to: Plants * Lamiaceae, the mint family ** ''Mentha'', the genus of plants commonly known as "mint" Coins and collectibles * Mint (facility), a facility for manufacturing coins * Mint condition, a state of like-new ...

, which later became Chile's presidential palace. Toesca died in 1799 and did not live to see his two major projects, the Cathedral and the Palacio, completed. However, he did finish a number of other smaller works, including the (city hall) of the Santiago ''Cabildo'', the San Juan de Dios Hospital, and the (

levee A levee ( or ), dike (American English), dyke (British English; see American and British English spelling differences#Miscellaneous spelling differences, spelling differences), embankment, floodbank, or stop bank is an elevated ridge, natural ...

s) which would prove crucial in protecting the city from the floods of the

Mapocho River The River Mapocho () ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapocho begins at the ...

. He also worked on the construction of the Santo Domingo Church, Santiago. His designs were generally in the

neoclassical style Neoclassicism, also spelled Neo-classicism, emerged as a Western cultural movement in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that drew inspiration from the art and culture of classical antiquity. Neoclassici ...

of the period. His creative influence on Santiago—directly and through his many students—is notable.

References

Guarda, Gabriel "Joaquin Toesca 1742-1799" Santiago del Chile, 1997

External links

Memoria.chilena: El arquitecto Joaquín Toesca (1752–1799) – biography
(''in Spanish'')

– (''in Spanish'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Toesca, Joaquin Architects from Rome Neoclassical architects People of the Spanish colonial Americas 1745 births 1799 deaths 18th-century Chilean people Italian neoclassical architects Italian emigrants to Chile