Santi Gucci (c. 1530–1600) was an Italian architect and sculptor.

Biography

He moved to Poland after 1550, most probably from

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

, and became the court artist of king

Sigismund II Augustus of Poland Sigismund II Augustus ( pl, Zygmunt II August, lt, Žygimantas Augustas; 1 August 1520 – 7 July 1572) was King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, the son of Sigismund I the Old, whom Sigismund II succeeded in 1548. He was the first rule ...

, his sister

Anna Jagiellonka Anna Jagiellon ( pl, Anna Jagiellonka, lt, Ona Jogailaitė; 18 October 1523 – 9 September 1596) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania from 1575 to 1587. Daughter of Polish King Sigismund I the Old and Italian duchess Bona ...

and his successor

Stefan Batory of Poland Stefan may refer to: * Stefan (given name) * Stefan (surname) * Ștefan, a Romanian given name and a surname * Štefan, a Slavic given name and surname * Stefan (footballer) (born 1988), Brazilian footballer * Stefan Heym, pseudonym of Germa ...

. Santi Gucci's workshop in

Pińczów Pińczów is a town in southern Poland, in Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship, about 40 km south of Kielce. It is the capital of Pińczów County. Population is 12,304 (2005). Pińczów belongs to the historic Polish province of Lesser Poland, a ...

became a notable school which attracted many future artists and became one of the centres of

Mannerist Mannerism, which may also be known as Late Renaissance, is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Ita ...

art and culture in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, , is a country in Central Europe. Poland is divided into Voivodeships of Poland, sixteen voivodeships and is the fifth most populous member state of the European Union (EU), with over 38 mill ...

. For his merits for the Polish crown he was ennobled, accepted into the ranks of the

szlachta The ''szlachta'' (Polish: endonym, Lithuanian: šlėkta) were the noble estate of the realm in the Kingdom of Poland, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth who, as a class, had the dominating position in ...

and given a Zetynian Coat of Arms. One of the most successful and fruitful artists of his epoch, Gucci built or reconstructed a number of palaces of notable people in all parts of the Polish Republic. Among them was the Firlej family castle in Janowiec on the

Vistula The Vistula (; pl, Wisła, ) is the longest river in Poland and the ninth-longest river in Europe, at in length. The drainage basin, reaching into three other nations, covers , of which is in Poland. The Vistula rises at Barania Góra in t ...

(1565–1585), for whom he also sculpted a Mannerist tomb in a local parish church (c. 1586). For the Piotr Myszkowski family he erected a new palace in

Książ Wielki Książ Wielki () is a village in Miechów County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Książ Wielki. It lies approximately north-east of Miechów and north of the ...

(1585–1595),

Mirów Castle Mirów Castle ( pl, Zamek w Mirowie) is a 14th-century castle, now ruined, located in the Mirów village, Silesian Voivodeship, Poland. It changed owners multiple times, and was finally abandoned in 1787. See also * Castles in Poland Cas ...

. He also erected the

Łobzów Łobzów is a village in the administrative district of Gmina Wolbrom, within Olkusz County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, in southern Poland. The village has a population of 1,100. History As a result of the Partitions of Poland (1772–95), t ...

palace (1585–1587), in

Kraków Kraków (), or Cracow, is the second-largest and one of the oldest cities in Poland. Situated on the Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland until 159 ...

, and expanded the castle in

(1591–1600). He is also supposed to be the architect of the Pińczów synagogue. One of his most notable works is the integral design and funerary monuments in the Bartolommeo Berrecci's Sigismund's Chapel in the Wawel Cathedral. The chapel, often referred to as the ''pearl of Italian Renaissance north of the Alps'', housed the graves of King Sigismund Augustus of Poland and

. Between 1594 and 1595 he also refurbished the Mariacka Chapel to house the tomb of Stefan Batory. Others among his major works include the Branicki family chapel in Niepołomice (1596) and St. Anne's Chapel in

Gallery

Image:Pinczow 20060722 1429.jpg,

St Anne's Chapel ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy an ...

in Pińczów Image:Kalplica_wawel.jpg, Sigismund's Chapel at the Wawel Cathedral Image:Poland Baranow - Castle.jpg, Baranów Sandomierski Image:Janowiec dziedziniec.jpg, Janowiec Image:Nowy Wiśnicz.jpg, Nowy Wiśnicz

Sources

* 1530s births 1600 deaths 16th-century Italian architects Italian Renaissance architects Architects from Florence 16th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Year of birth uncertain Italy–Poland relations Italian emigrants to Poland Renaissance architects {{Poland-sculptor-stub