Carlo Rainaldi was an Italian

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 architect of the Baroque

Baroque

The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...

 period.

Born in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

, Rainaldi was one of the leading architects of 17th century Rome, known for a certain grandeur in his designs. He worked at first with his father, Girolamo Rainaldi

Girolamo Rainaldi

Girolamo Rainaldi was an Italian architect who worked on the whole in a conservative Mannerist style, often with collaborating architects, yet was a successful competitor of Bernini...

, a late Mannerist architect in Rome. After his father's death, he fully embraced the monumental Baroque style. He gained ascendancy in Rome when the Barberini pontificate of Pope Urban VIII

Pope Urban VIII

Pope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...

 was replaced by that of the more austere Pamphilj papacy of Innocent X. His works include the façade of Sant'Andrea della Valle

Sant'Andrea della Valle

Sant'Andrea della Valle is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, in the rione of Sant'Eustachio. The basilica is the general seat for the religious order of the Theatines.-Overview:...

 (1661-65), the twin churches of Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Santa Maria dei Miracoli

Italian churches:* Santa Maria dei Miracoli and Santa Maria in Montesanto in Rome* Santa Maria dei Miracoli, Venice* Santa Maria presso San Celso in Milan...

 and Santa Maria in Montesanto, and Santa Maria in Campitelli

Santa Maria in Campitelli

Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the Piazza di Campitelli, Rome, Italy....

 (1663-67), considered his finest work. He was unable to complete the facade of Sant'Agnese in Agone

Sant'Agnese in Agone

Sant'Agnese in Agone is a seventeenth century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christian Saint Agnes was martyred in the ancient Stadium of Domitian.The rebuilding of the...

 during work in 1653-57.

Beyond his work as an architect in stone, Rainaldi also designed stage sets for religious rituals and events. In 1650, he designed the sets for the Quarant'ore, or Forty Hours Devotion, held in the church of Il Gesù. In 1665, he designed a catafalque

Catafalque

A catafalque is a raised bier, soapbox, or similar platform, often movable, that is used to support the casket, coffin, or body of the deceased during a funeral or memorial service. Following a Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, a catafalque may be used to stand in place of the body at the Absolution of...

 commemorating the death

Roman Catafalque for Philip IV of Spain

The Catafalque of Philip IV of Spain was a large temporary catafalque built on the death of Philip IV of Spain in 1665 in the nave of Santa Maria Maggiore, Rome, Italy....

 of Philip IV of Spain

Philip IV of Spain

Philip IV was King of Spain between 1621 and 1665, sovereign of the Spanish Netherlands, and King of Portugal until 1640...

. He also was a composer of some interest (recently his cantatas and vocal duets were recorded by Tactus label).

Rainaldi died in Rome

Rome

Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...

.