Giacomo della Porta (1532–1602) was an

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

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 ...

and

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

. He was born at

Porlezza 240px, Interiori of the church of San Vittore. Porlezza is a ''comune'' (municipality) on Lake Lugano in the Province of Como in the Italian region Lombardy, located about north of Milan and about north of Como. Porlezza borders the following m ...

, Lombardy and died in Rome.

Biography

Giacomo Della Porta was born in the Duchy of Genoa into a family of sculptors. He was influenced by and collaborated with Michelangelo, and

Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola ( , , ; 1 October 15077 July 1573), often simply called Vignola, was one of the great Italian architects of 16th century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Churc ...

, his teacher of architecture. With these two great masters he became one of the most important architects in the history of the Roman renaissance. In fact after 1563 he carried out Michelangelo's plans for the rebuilding of the

Campidoglio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. ...

Capitoline The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. T ...

Hill's open spaces where he completed the façade and steps of

Palazzo Senatorio The Capitolium or Capitoline Hill ( ; it, Campidoglio ; la, Mons Capitolinus ), between the Forum and the Campus Martius, is one of the Seven Hills of Rome. The hill was earlier known as ''Mons Saturnius'', dedicated to the god Saturn. T ...

, and the ''

Cordonata The cordonata (Italian word, from ''cordone'', which in architecture means "linear element which emphasizes a limit") is a sloping road interrupted at regular distances by low (8-10 cm) steps in the form of transversal stripes (''cordoni'') made ...

'' or the ramped steps up to the Piazza del Campidoglio. After the death of Vignola in 1573, he continued the construction of Il Gesù, the mother church of the Jesuit order, and in 1584 modified its façade after his own designs. He also worked on the construction of Palazzo Albertoni Spinola by acting on the load-bearing structures and internal partitions creating, through the orthogonality of the entrance gallery and the entrance hall of the Palace, a unique prospective visual effect. From 1573 he was in charge of the ongoing construction of St. Peter's Basilica, and later, in collaboration with

Domenico Fontana Domenico Fontana (154328 June 1607) was an Italian architect of the late Renaissance, born in today's Ticino. He worked primarily in Italy, at Rome and Naples. Biography He was born at Melide, a village on the Lake Lugano, at that time joint p ...

, completed Michelangelo's dome between 1588-1590. It's important to underline that Della Porta and Fontana were not mere performers of Michelangelo's drawings; in fact, they had the merit of the technical execution of a firm that sanctioned an important stage of technological advances at the end of the sixteenth century. Not only did they make a noticeable change in the bend curvature of Michelangelo's projected design, making it closer to the

Brunelleschi Filippo Brunelleschi ( , , also known as Pippo; 1377 – 15 April 1446), considered to be a founding father of Renaissance architecture, was an Italian architect, designer, and sculptor, and is now recognized to be the first modern engineer, p ...

model, but inserted a series of chains in the masonry (especially in the upper part of the dome) to hold the transverse forces pushed by the vault they used high quality materials, hinging travertine plates with molten lead; features, which allowed the dome not to bear any serious damage after the earthquake of 1703. They also made the costumes with the help of sophisticated wooden finishes and drew the technical details of the 1: 1 scale dome directly on the floor of the Basilica of St. Paul outside the Walls. Giacomo della Porta completed a number of Rome's fountains from the 16th century; these included the fountains in the

Piazza del Popolo Piazza del Popolo is a large urban square in Rome. The name in modern Italian language, Italian literally means "People's Square", but historically it derives from the Populus, poplars (''populus'' in Latin language, Latin, ''pioppo'' in Italian) ...

, the

Fountain of Neptune, Rome The ''Fountain of Neptune'' ( it, Fontana del Nettuno) is a fountain in Rome, Italy, located at the north end of the Piazza Navona. Name It was once called "Fontana dei Calderari" because it was located close to a small alley with blacksmith's w ...

and La Fontana del Moro in the

Piazza Navona Piazza Navona () is a public open space in Rome, Italy. It is built on the site of the Stadium of Domitian, built in the 1st century AD, and follows the form of the open space of the stadium. The ancient Romans went there to watch the '' agones' ...

and

Fontana delle Tartarughe Fontana may refer to: Places Italy *Fontana Liri, comune in the Province of Frosinone *Fontanafredda, comune in the Province of Pordenone * Fontanarosa, comune in the Province of Avellino *Francavilla Fontana, comune in the Province of Brindisi ...

very important for the Roman legends. He died suddenly in 1602 coming back to Rome from

Frascati Frascati () is a city and ''comune'' in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated wit ...

where he was building

Villa Belvedere The (Belvedere Courtyard or Belvedere Court) was a major architectural work of the High Renaissance at the Vatican Palace in Rome. Designed by Donato Bramante from 1505 onward, its concept and details reverberated in courtyard design, formalized ...

commissioned by the

Aldobrandini family The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican. History Their ...

Selected works

* St. Peter's Dome (

1564 Year 1564 ( MDLXIV) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events January–June * January 26 – Livonian War – Battle of Ula: A Lithuanian surprise attack resul ...

) * Palazzetto Inside Palazzo Albertoni Spinola Perspective (

1600 __NOTOC__ In the Gregorian calendar, it was the last century leap year until the year 2000. Events January–June * January 1 – Scotland adopts January 1 as New Year's Day instead of March 25. * January ** Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of T ...

) * Oratorio del SS. Crocifisso (1562-1568) *

Chiesa del Gesù Chiesa (Italian, 'church') may refer to: People with the surname *Andrea Chiesa (born 1966), Swiss Formula One racer *Anthony della Chiesa (1394–1459), Italian Dominican friar *Bruno della Chiesa (born 1962), European linguist * Carlo Alberto Da ...

(1571-1575) *Fountains at the

Palazzo Borghese Palazzo Borghese is a palace in Rome, Italy, the main seat of the Borghese family. It was nicknamed ''il Cembalo'' ("the harpsichord") due to its unusual trapezoidal groundplan; its narrowest facade faces the River Tiber. The entrance at the oppos ...

(1573) *Fountains in

Piazza Colonna Piazza Colonna is a piazza at the center of the Rione of Colonna in the historic heart of Rome, Italy. It is named for the marble Column of Marcus Aurelius, which has stood there since AD 193. The bronze statue of Saint Paul that crowns the col ...

(1574) *Small fountains at

(1574) *One fountain at the

Piazza della Rotonda The Piazza della Rotonda is a piazza ( city square) in Rome, Italy, on the south side of which is located the Pantheon. The square gets its name from the Pantheon's informal title as the church of ''Santa Maria Rotonda''. History Although the ...

at the Capitol Hill (1573-1602) *

Palazzo della Sapienza A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whic ...

(1578-1602) * Palazzo Capizucchi (1580) *

Santa Maria dei Monti Santa Maria dei Monti (also known as Madonna dei Monti or Santa Maria ai Monti) is a cardinalatial titular church, located at 41 Via della Madonna dei Monti, at the intersection with Via dei Serpenti, in the rione Monti of Rome, Italy. The churc ...

(1580) * Sant'Atanasio dei Greci (1581) *Façade of

San Luigi dei Francesi The Church of St. Louis of the French ( it, San Luigi dei Francesi, french: Saint Louis des Français, la, S. Ludovici Francorum de Urbe) is a Roman Catholic church in Rome, not far from Piazza Navona. The church is dedicated to the Virgin Mary ...

(1589) *

(1584) *

Santa Maria Scala Coeli Santa Maria Scala Coeli ( Saint Mary of the Stairway to Heaven) is a Roman Catholic Church located on the grounds of the Tre Fontane Abbey located on Via di Acque Salvie 1 in the Quartiere Ardeatino (Q. XX.) in Rome. This is one of three churches ...

*Palazzo Marescotti (1585) * Palazzo Serlupi (1585) * SS. Trinità de' Monti (1586) *Fontana di Piazza alli Monti (1589) *Cupola of

(1588–90) *Fountains at the Piazza di

Santa Maria in Campitelli Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico (''Santa Maria in Portico di Campitelli'') is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the narrow Piazza di Campitelli in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. The church is served by the Clerics Re ...

(1589) *

Fontana di Piazza d'Aracoeli The fountain in the Piazza d'Aracoeli is a fountain in Rome ( Italy), located at the base of the Capitoline Hill, in the little square with the same name. Description It is one of the first and simplest of Renaissance fountains that would emb ...

(1589) *Fontana della Terrina (1590) *Sculpture ''Christ delivering the keys of Heaven to St. Peter'' (1594), altar of the St. Peter chapel, church

Santa Pudenziana Santa Pudenziana is a church of Rome, a basilica built in the 4th century and dedicated to Saint Pudentiana, sister of Praxedes and daughter of Pudens (mentioned by Paul the Apostle in ''2 Timothy'', 4: 21). It is one of the national churches in ...

*Palazzo Fani (1598) *

San Paolo alle Tre Fontane San Paolo alle Tre Fontane (Italian), in English "St Paul at the Three Fountains" is a Roman Catholic church dedicated to St Paul the Apostle, at the presumed site of his martyrdom in Rome. In Latin it is known as Sancti Pauli ad Aquas Salvias ("S ...

(1599) * San Nicolò in Carcere (1599) * Palazzo Albertoni Spinola (1600) *

Villa Aldobrandini The Villa Aldobrandini is a villa in Frascati, Italy. It is still owned and lived in by the Aldobrandini family, and known as Belvedere for its location overlooking the valley toward the city of Rome. It is the only grand Pope, Papal garden not o ...

(1600–02) in

*Cappella Aldobrandini (1600–02) in Santa Maria sopra Minerva

References

*Katherine Rinne, "Fluid Precision: Giacomo della Porta and the Acqua Vergine fountains of Rome", in Landscapes of Memory and Experience, ed. Jan Birksted (London, 2000), 183-201. *Katherine W. Rinne, "Between Precedent and Experiment: the Restoration of the Acqua Vergine (1560-1570)", in L. Roberts, S. Schaffer and P. Dear (eds.), The mindful hand: inquiry and invention from the late Renaissance to early industrialisation (Edita/University of Chicago Press: 2007), 95-115.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Della Porta, Giacomo Italian Mannerist architects Italian Mannerist sculptors 1530s births 1602 deaths Architects from Genoa 16th-century Italian architects 16th-century Italian sculptors