Paolo Posi (1708 - 1776) was an Italian

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 ...

of the late-Baroque period. Among the cities in which he was active were Rome,

Narni Narni (in Latin, Narnia) is an ancient hilltown and ''comune'' of Umbria, in central Italy, with 19,252 inhabitants (2017). At an altitude of 240 m (787 ft), it overhangs a narrow gorge of the Nera River in the province of Terni. ...

, and

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history. ...

. Among the other works, he designed mausoleums for Cardinal Inico Caracciolo in

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical bu ...

, Cardinal

Giuseppe Renato Imperiali Giuseppe Renato Imperiali (1 May 1651 – 18 February 1737) was an Italian cardinal, and known as an avid bibliophile. Biography He was born in Francavilla Fontana in Apulia, in the Kingdom of Naples, into an aristocratic family which had com ...

in the church of Sant'Agostino in Rome, for cardinal Carafa in

Sant'Andrea delle Fratte Sant'Andrea delle Fratte ("Saint Andrew of the Thickets") is a 17th-century basilica church in Rome, Italy, dedicated to St. Andrew. The Cardinal Priest of the ''Titulus S. Andreae Apostoli de Hortis'' is Ennio Antonelli. History The current chu ...

(1759), and for princess Maria Flaminia Chigi-Odescalchi (1771) in the church of

Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

Works

Posi was born in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centuri ...

. In 1734-1742 he helped in the restoration of the Cathedral of Naples. From 1751 onwards he was the family architect of 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 ...

. Posi helped with the ephemeral obsequies held in Santi Apostoli (a church near their residence) in Rome, after the death of James Stuart, the pretender to the crown of England, as well as supervising firework displays for the Colonna. In 1767, Lorenzo Colonna commissioned Posi to design the ephemeral celebratory ''machine de artifizio'' with fireworks on the occasion of the provision of a

Chinea The Chinèa was the name attached to a tribute paid by the Kings of Naples as vassals to the Popes. The tribute was apparently first recognized by the Norman King of Naples in 1059. The Chinea reached its greatest magnitude from about 1550 to 177 ...

, or richly caparisoned mule (symbol and veritable tribute) to

Pope Clement XIII Pope Clement XIII ( la, Clemens XIII; it, Clemente XIII; 7 March 1693 – 2 February 1769), born Carlo della Torre di Rezzonico, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 July 1758 to his death in February 1769. ...

. Posi decorated the main altar of the church of

Santa Maria dell'Anima , native_name= , image=Santa Maria del Anima I.jpg , caption=Façade of the church. , mapframe=yes , mapframe-caption=Click on the map for a fullscreen view , mapframe-zoom=12 , mapframe-marker=religious-christian , coordinates= , location=Via di ...

in Rome as if it had been a pagan Bacchus temple, and was dismissed by the church deputies. Nominated as architect to St Peter's Basilica and Knight of the Golden Spur, Posi helped design the Jesuit church in Sinigaglia, and the place of Abbot Farsetti in

Santa Maria di Sala Santa Maria di Sala is a town in the Metropolitan City of Venice, Veneto, northern Italy. It is crossed by the SP32 provincial road. Twin towns Santa Maria di Sala is twinned with: * Hvar Hvar (; Chakavian: ''Hvor'' or ''For'', el, Φάρ ...

, in the

Veneto Veneto (, ; vec, Vèneto ) or Venetia is one of the 20 regions of Italy. Its population is about five million, ranking fourth in Italy. The region's capital is Venice while the biggest city is Verona. Veneto was part of the Roman Empire unt ...

. He helped rebuild the

Palazzo Colonna The Palazzo Colonna () is a palatial block of buildings in central Rome, Italy, at the base of the Quirinal Hill, and adjacent to the church of Santi Apostoli. It is built in part over the ruins of an old Roman serapeum, and it has belonged to t ...

and rebuilt the church of Santa Caterina dei Senesi. Poli also designed the façade of the abbey church in the Certosa of Trisulti (1798). He was a teacher of Italian architect

Giacomo Quarenghi Giacomo Quarenghi (; rus, Джа́комо Кваре́нги, Džákomo Kvaréngi, ˈdʐakəmə kvɐˈrʲenʲɡʲɪ; 20 or 21 September 1744) was an Italian architect who was the foremost and most prolific practitioner of neoclassical architectu ...

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Posi, Paolo 1708 births 1776 deaths 18th-century Italian architects Italian Baroque architects