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 an ...

, and became the court artist of king Sigismund II Augustus of Poland, his sister Anna Jagiellonka and his successor Stefan Batory of Poland. 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 Italy, ...

art and culture in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

. 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 the ...

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 Firlej is a village in Lubartów County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Firlej. It lies approximately north-west of Lubartów and north of the regional capital Lubli ...

family castle in

Janowiec Janowiec is a village in Puławy County, Lublin Voivodeship, in eastern Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Janowiec. It lies approximately south-west of Puławy and west of the regional capital Lublin ...

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 ...

(1565–1585), for whom he also sculpted a Mannerist tomb in a local parish church (c. 1586). For the

Piotr Myszkowski Piotr Myszkowski can refer to: * Piotr Myszkowski (bishop) Piotr Myszkowski (c. 1510 – 1591) was a 16th-century Roman Catholic Bishop of Plock and Kraków, in Poland. Early life Piotr Myszkowski was born about 1510 at Przeciszów into the Ja ...

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 t ...

(1585–1595), Mirów Castle. He also erected the Łobzów 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 1596 ...

, and expanded the castle in

(1591–1600). He is also supposed to be the architect of the

Pińczów synagogue Pińczów synagogue is a former Jewish synagogue in Pińczów in Poland. It is one of the oldest synagogues in Poland, built between 1594 and 1609. It was damaged during the Holocaust, which led to its disuse. Restoration on the building began in ...

. One of his most notable works is the integral design and funerary monuments in the

Bartolommeo Berrecci Bartolomeo Berrecci (1480 Pontassieve, Italy - 1537 Kraków, Poland) was an Italian Renaissance architect who spent most of his career in Poland. Studies and career in Poland He learned architecture in Florence, first through apprenticeship ...

's Sigismund's Chapel in the

Wawel Cathedral The Wawel Cathedral ( pl, Katedra Wawelska), formally titled the Royal Archcathedral Basilica of Saints Stanislaus and Wenceslaus, is a Roman Catholic cathedral situated on Wawel Hill in Kraków, Poland. Nearly 1000 years old, it is part of the ...

. The chapel, often referred to as the ''pearl of Italian Renaissance north of the Alps'', housed the graves of King

Sigismund 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 ...

and Anna Jagiellonka. Between 1594 and 1595 he also refurbished the Mariacka Chapel to house the tomb of

Stefan Batory 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 German writ ...

. Others among his major works include the Branicki family chapel in

Niepołomice Niepołomice (pronounced ; ) is a town in southern Poland, within the Lesser Poland Voivodeship (since 1999). It is situated on the Vistula River, on the verge of the large virgin Niepołomice Forest. There is a 14th-century hunting castle ...

(1596) and St. Anne's Chapel in

Gallery

Image:Pinczow 20060722 1429.jpg, St Anne's Chapel in Pińczów Image:Kalplica_wawel.jpg,

Sigismund's Chapel Sigismund's Chapel ( pl, kaplica Zygmuntowska) is a royal chapel of the Wawel Cathedral in Kraków, Poland. Built as a funerary chapel for the last members of the Jagiellonian Dynasty, it has been hailed by many art historians as "the most beautifu ...

at the

Image:Poland Baranow - Castle.jpg,

Baranów Sandomierski Baranów Sandomierski is a small town in southern Poland, in the Subcarpathian Voivodship, Tarnobrzeg County on the Vistula River, with 1,420 inhabitants as of December 2021. Baranów lies near the Vistula river, along voivodeship road nr. 985, ...

Image:Janowiec dziedziniec.jpg,

Image:Nowy Wiśnicz.jpg,

Nowy Wiśnicz Nowy Wiśnicz ( yi, ווישניצא Vishnitsa) is a small town in Bochnia County, Lesser Poland Voivodeship, Poland, with 2,728 inhabitants (2019). Located south of Bochnia, Nowy Wiśnicz is renowned for its Italianate fortified castle which d ...

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