Giovanni Antonio Dosio
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Antonio Dosio was an Italian
architect and sculptor.
He was born in San Gimignano
. A student of Ammanati
, with whom he realized the Villa dell'Ambrogiana, Dosio worked primarily in Rome (1548–75) and Florence (1575–89), with some commissions that took him to Naples.
During his early years in Rome, where he arrived at the age of fifteen, Dosio produced numerous drawings of the ancient and modern city, and developed a reputation as an antiquary while he was still a young man. He worked in the atelier of Raffaello da Montelupo
until 1551. His first important Roman commission was the tomb for his friend, the humanist poet Annibale Caro
, in 1567; in the interim, he scratched out a miserable living doing restorations of fragments of Roman sculpture
. In 1562 he was carrying out an excavation on behalf of the papal condottiere Torquato Conti, who had extensive contacts among humanist and antiquarian circles in Rome and knew Dosio's good friend Annibale Caro. Dosio was uncovering the fragments of the marble map of Rome made for Septimius Severus
, the Forma Urbis Romae
from a site near the Church of SS Cosma e Damiano. Torquato Conti had leased the excavation site from the canons of the church. Conti presented the precious fragments to his relative Cardinal (Catholicism
Alessandro Farnese. Conti then sent Dosio to his castello at Poli
, where Dosio executed the stucco friezes that may still be seen there in the ground floor apartments.
In 1564 a papal courier found Dosio in the Umbrian hilltown of Amelia
, working on a funeral monument for a local bishop, Bartolomeo Farrattino. Immediately thereafter Dosio left to oversee the rebuilding of fortifications at Anagni
, his first work as an architect, which was interrupted in 1565 with the death of Pope Pius IV
; of this work, two of the rusticated portals remain, the Porta S. Maria, and the Porta S. Francesco. The overall design of the fortifications was doubtless due to Pius's cousin, Gabrio Serbelloni
, and the military governor, Torquato Conti, to whom Dosio owed the commission.
His years in Florence are best known in part because his sole contemporary biographer, Raffaello Borghini, was Florentine himself, and described Dosio's work in Florence most fully. His Florentine years coincided with his full maturity as an architect, and the commissions were for projects that were grander than his Roman work.
He is the author of Urbis aedificiorum illustrium quae supersunt reliquiae (1569). Giovanni Battista Caccini
was his pupil.
His place in the history of the period, according to modern art scholar Carolyn Valone (1976) is of the "second rank".
From 1590 he worked for almost twenty years in Naples, where the Viceroy bestowed on him the prestigious appointment of “royal architect”. In Naples he realized the cloister of the San Martino Charterhouse, worked on a draft for the Girolamini church, while in the Cathedral of Naples he realized the Brancaccio Chapel (1598). From 1600 He worked in Caserta for the Prince of Caserta Andrea Matteo Acquaviva D’Aragona. See A. Marciano, Giovanni Antonio Dosio fra disegno dell'antico e progetto, la scuola di Pitagora editrice 2008.
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 and sculptor.
He was born in San Gimignano
San Gimignano
San Gimignano is a small walled medieval hill town in the province of Siena, Tuscany, north-central Italy. It is mainly famous for its medieval architecture, especially its towers, which may be seen from several kilometres outside the town....
. A student of Ammanati
Bartolomeo Ammanati
Bartolomeo Ammannati was an Italian architect and sculptor, born at Settignano, near Florence. He studied under Baccio Bandinelli and Jacopo Sansovino and closely imitated the style of Michelangelo.He was more distinguished in architecture than in sculpture...
, with whom he realized the Villa dell'Ambrogiana, Dosio worked primarily in Rome (1548–75) and Florence (1575–89), with some commissions that took him to Naples.
During his early years in Rome, where he arrived at the age of fifteen, Dosio produced numerous drawings of the ancient and modern city, and developed a reputation as an antiquary while he was still a young man. He worked in the atelier of Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo
Raffaello da Montelupo , born Raffaele Sinibaldi, was a sculptor and architect of the Italian Renaissance, and an apprentice of Michelangelo. He was the son of another Italian sculptor, Baccio da Montelupo...
until 1551. His first important Roman commission was the tomb for his friend, the humanist poet Annibale Caro
Annibale Caro
Annibale Caro was an Italian poet.-Biography:Born in Civitanova Marche, province of Macerata, he became tutor to the wealthy family of Lodovico Gaddi in Florence, and then secretary to Lodovico's brother Giovanni...
, in 1567; in the interim, he scratched out a miserable living doing restorations of fragments of Roman sculpture
Roman sculpture
The study of ancient Roman sculpture is complicated by its relation to Greek sculpture. Many examples of even the most famous Greek sculptures, such as the Apollo Belvedere and Barberini Faun, are known only from Roman Imperial or Hellenistic "copies." At one time, this imitation was taken by art...
. In 1562 he was carrying out an excavation on behalf of the papal condottiere Torquato Conti, who had extensive contacts among humanist and antiquarian circles in Rome and knew Dosio's good friend Annibale Caro. Dosio was uncovering the fragments of the marble map of Rome made for Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus
Septimius Severus , also known as Severus, was Roman Emperor from 193 to 211. Severus was born in Leptis Magna in the province of Africa. As a young man he advanced through the customary succession of offices under the reigns of Marcus Aurelius and Commodus. Severus seized power after the death of...
, the Forma Urbis Romae
Forma Urbis Romae
The Forma Urbis Romae or Severan Marble Plan is a massive marble map of ancient Rome, created under the emperor Septimius Severus between 203 and 211...
from a site near the Church of SS Cosma e Damiano. Torquato Conti had leased the excavation site from the canons of the church. Conti presented the precious fragments to his relative Cardinal (Catholicism
Cardinal (Catholicism)
A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
Alessandro Farnese. Conti then sent Dosio to his castello at Poli
Poli, Italy
Poli is a town and comune in Lazio, central Italy. It is located in the Monti Prenestini area. It is also the birthplace of Cardinal Agostino Vallini.-Main sights:*Palazzo Conti...
, where Dosio executed the stucco friezes that may still be seen there in the ground floor apartments.
In 1564 a papal courier found Dosio in the Umbrian hilltown of Amelia
Amelia (Italy)
Amelia is a town and comune of the province of Terni, in the Umbria region of central Italy. It grew up around an ancient hill fort, known to the Romans as '.-Geography:...
, working on a funeral monument for a local bishop, Bartolomeo Farrattino. Immediately thereafter Dosio left to oversee the rebuilding of fortifications at Anagni
Anagni
Anagni is an ancient town and comune in Latium, central Italy, in the hills east-southeast of Rome. It is a historical center in Ciociaria.-Geography:...
, his first work as an architect, which was interrupted in 1565 with the death of Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV
Pope Pius IV , born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was Pope from 1559 to 1565. He is notable for presiding over the culmination of the Council of Trent.-Biography:...
; of this work, two of the rusticated portals remain, the Porta S. Maria, and the Porta S. Francesco. The overall design of the fortifications was doubtless due to Pius's cousin, Gabrio Serbelloni
Gabrio Serbelloni
Gabriele Serbelloni, better known as Gabrio Serbelloni , was an Italian condottiero and general.- Early life :...
, and the military governor, Torquato Conti, to whom Dosio owed the commission.
His years in Florence are best known in part because his sole contemporary biographer, Raffaello Borghini, was Florentine himself, and described Dosio's work in Florence most fully. His Florentine years coincided with his full maturity as an architect, and the commissions were for projects that were grander than his Roman work.
He is the author of Urbis aedificiorum illustrium quae supersunt reliquiae (1569). Giovanni Battista Caccini
Giovanni Battista Caccini
Giovanni Battista Caccini was an Italian sculptor from Florence, who worked in a classicising style in the later phase of Mannerism....
was his pupil.
His place in the history of the period, according to modern art scholar Carolyn Valone (1976) is of the "second rank".
From 1590 he worked for almost twenty years in Naples, where the Viceroy bestowed on him the prestigious appointment of “royal architect”. In Naples he realized the cloister of the San Martino Charterhouse, worked on a draft for the Girolamini church, while in the Cathedral of Naples he realized the Brancaccio Chapel (1598). From 1600 He worked in Caserta for the Prince of Caserta Andrea Matteo Acquaviva D’Aragona. See A. Marciano, Giovanni Antonio Dosio fra disegno dell'antico e progetto, la scuola di Pitagora editrice 2008.
Main works
- Figure of Hope on the tomb of Giulio del Vecchio, Rome, ca. 1556 (demolished)
- Wall monument for Bartolomeo Farrattino, Amelia, c. 1559/62-64.
- Portals and city walls, Anagni, 1564-66.
- Palazzo Conti (now Palazzo Pubblico), Pola, for Torquato Conti; stucco friezes
- Tombs of Annibale Caro (1567) and Giovanni PaciniGiovanni PaciniGiovanni Pacini was an Italian composer, best known for his operas. Pacini was born in Catania, Sicily, the son of the buffo Luigi Pacini, who was to appear in the premieres of many of Giovanni's operas...
in the church of San Lorenzo in DamasoSan Lorenzo in DamasoSan Lorenzo in Damaso is a basilica church in Rome, Italy, one of several dedicated to the Roman deacon and martyr Saint Lawrence...
, Rome; - Tomb of Antonio Massa da Gallese in San Pietro in MontorioSan Pietro in MontorioSan Pietro in Montorio is a church in Rome, Italy, which includes in its courtyard The Tempietto built by Donato Bramante.-History:...
, Rome; - Tomb of the marchese di Saluzzo in Santa Maria in AracoeliSanta Maria in AracoeliThe Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. It is still the designated Church of the city council of Rome, which uses the ancient title of Senatus Populusque Romanus...
, Rome - GirolaminiGirolaminiGirolamini is the name of a Church and ecclesiastical complex in Naples, southern Italy. It is located directly across from the Cathedral of Naples on via Duomo....
in NaplesNaplesNaples is a city in Southern Italy, situated on the country's west coast by the Gulf of Naples. Lying between two notable volcanic regions, Mount Vesuvius and the Phlegraean Fields, it is the capital of the region of Campania and of the province of Naples...
; - interiors of the Certosa di San MartinoCertosa di San MartinoThe Certosa di San Martino is a former monastery complex, now a museum, in Naples, southern Italy. It is the most visible landmark of the city, perched atop the Vomero hill that commands the gulf. A Carthusian monastery, it was finished and inaugurated under the rule of Queen Joan I in 1368. It...
, Naples. - Gaddi Chapel in Santa Maria Novella, Florence (1575–77); Michelangelesque
- Villa di Bellosguardo, Florence
- Palazzo Giacomini Larderel, in via Tornabuoni, Florence;
- Niccolini Chapel in Santa CroceBasilica di Santa Croce di FirenzeThe Basilica di Santa Croce is the principal Franciscan church in Florence, Italy, and a minor basilica of the Roman Catholic Church. It is situated on the Piazza di Santa Croce, about 800 metres south east of the Duomo. The site, when first chosen, was in marshland outside the city walls...
, Florence (begun in 1582), with revetment of polychrome marbles. - The Archbishop's Palace, Florence; it was modified in the 19th century.
- Palazzo del Boschetto, Caserta