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, 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. Santi Gucci's workshop in Pińczów 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. 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 populou ...

. 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 ...

(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 J ...

family he erected a new palace in Książ Wielki (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, Vistula River in Lesser Poland Voivodeship, the city dates back to the seventh century. Kraków was the official capital of Poland un ...

, and expanded the castle in Pińczów (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 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 ruler ...

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 Pińczów.

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

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, Janowiec 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