Giovanni Battista Vaccarini
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Battista Vaccarini (3 February 1702 – 11 March 1768) was an Italian architect
, notable for his work in the Sicilian Baroque
style in his homeland during the period of massive rebuilding following the earthquake of 1693
. Many of his principal works can be found in the area in and around Catania
.
. During the 1720s he studied architecture in Rome
, with the support of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, the great patron of Corelli
. Vaccarini was mostly interested on combining the styles of Borromini and Bernini. This was an eclectic fusion of architectural principles that was common at the end of the 17th century, producing such notable buildings as Giovan Antonio de' Rossi's Palazzo Altieri
, and Palazzo Asti-Bonaparte.
Vaccarini returned to Sicily around 1730. His work seems then to have been influenced by the school of architecture of Alessandro Specchi
, Francesco de Sanctis
and Filippo Raguzzini
, who tended to reject the classicizing of buildings in favour of a much more flamboyant style. Both Specchi and de Sanctis were closely involved with the design of grand exterior staircases, common to Italian buildings with a second story piano nobile
, and of course the climate completely negating the requirement for an internal entrance hall on the ground floor in order to provide quick easy access. De Sanctis had taken this feature one step further in 1723 with his design for the Spanish steps
in Rome. This grand staircase approach to a building was to be invaluable in Sicily, not only for the practical reasons of entering the piano nobile, but also for the creation of a grand approach to churches and cathedrals, where the topography of the site permits such a feature.
The ground floor of the Palazzo degli Elefanti
in Catania (already in construction when Vaccarini came to the project) shows the decorated rustication
in a 16th century Sicilian fashion. The ground floor pilasters continue but unrusticated, the cornice
they support is entirely in accordance with Roman contemporary design, as are the windows. The windows on the piano nobile have straight, but broken, pediments with canted sides, a theme commonly repoduced by Vaccarini in ensuing years. The free standing columns supporting a straight balcony endow a pompous grandeur to the entrance. The balcony was to become a feature of Sicilian Baroque, it was later to take many shapes, often curved, serpentine, or a combination of both juxtaposing. Such balconies were often decorated with elaborate wrought iron balustrade.
In front of this building Vaccarini designed a fountain, consisting in an obelisk
upon the back of the elephant u Liotru (symbol of Catania), inspring to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
. Vaccarini completed the square by designing the main facade of the cathedral, a thirty year project not completed until 1768. According to Professor Anthony Blunt
, the cathedral was not one of Vaccarini's successes.
As a church architect Vaccarini introduced into Sicily the church plans of the Renaissance
which had passed Sicily by. However, many of his churches are based on the designs of churches he had seen in Rome. The church of S. Agata in Catania, for instance, is based on Sant'Agnese in Agone
(Rome).
Vaccarini's Baroque became prevalent in Catania, and much copied for three quarters of a century. However, he was not employed only in Sicily, since in 1756 he journeyed to Naples
to aid Vanvitelli
and Ferdinando Fuga
in the construction of the marble Palace of Caserta. Vanvitelli's influence is clearly visible in Vaccarini's final works, especially the Collegio Cutelli and the Piccola Badia.
Vaccarini died in Palermo in 1768.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
, notable for his work in the Sicilian Baroque
Sicilian Baroque
Sicilian Baroque is the distinctive form of Baroque architecture that took hold on the island of Sicily, off the southern coast of Italy, in the 17th and 18th centuries...
style in his homeland during the period of massive rebuilding following the earthquake of 1693
1693 Sicily earthquake
The 1693 Sicily earthquake refers to a powerful earthquake that struck parts of southern Italy, notably Sicily, Calabria and Malta on January 11, 1693 around 9 pm local time. This earthquake was preceded by a damaging foreshock on January 9th...
. Many of his principal works can be found in the area in and around Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...
.
Biography
Vaccarini was born in PalermoPalermo
Palermo is a city in Southern Italy, the capital of both the autonomous region of Sicily and the Province of Palermo. The city is noted for its history, culture, architecture and gastronomy, playing an important role throughout much of its existence; it is over 2,700 years old...
. During the 1720s he studied architecture 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...
, with the support of Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, the great patron of Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli
Arcangelo Corelli was an Italian violinist and composer of Baroque music.-Biography:Corelli was born at Fusignano, in the current-day province of Ravenna, although at the time it was in the province of Ferrara. Little is known about his early life...
. Vaccarini was mostly interested on combining the styles of Borromini and Bernini. This was an eclectic fusion of architectural principles that was common at the end of the 17th century, producing such notable buildings as Giovan Antonio de' Rossi's Palazzo Altieri
Palazzo Altieri
thumb|300 px|The Palazzo AltieriPalazzo Altieri is a palace in Rome, which was the home of the Altieri family in the city. The palace faces the square in front of the Church of the Gesù.-The Altieri:...
, and Palazzo Asti-Bonaparte.
Alessandro Specchi
Alessandro Specchi was an Italian architect and engraver.Born in Rome, he trained as an architect under Carlo Fontana. He also specialized as an engraver and made a well known series of plates for prints of vedute or views of Rome As an architect, he was influenced by Francesco Borromini...
, Francesco de Sanctis
Francesco de Sanctis (architect)
Francesco De Sanctis was a late Baroque Italian architect, most notable for his design of the Spanish Steps in Rome in collaboration with Alessandro Specchi...
and Filippo Raguzzini
Filippo Raguzzini
Filippo Raguzzini was an Italian architect best known for a range of buildings constructed during the reign of Benedict XIII.-Biography:...
, who tended to reject the classicizing of buildings in favour of a much more flamboyant style. Both Specchi and de Sanctis were closely involved with the design of grand exterior staircases, common to Italian buildings with a second story piano nobile
Piano nobile
The piano nobile is the principal floor of a large house, usually built in one of the styles of classical renaissance architecture...
, and of course the climate completely negating the requirement for an internal entrance hall on the ground floor in order to provide quick easy access. De Sanctis had taken this feature one step further in 1723 with his design for the Spanish steps
Spanish Steps
The Spanish Steps are a set of steps in Rome, Italy, climbing a steep slope between the Piazza di Spagna at the base and Piazza Trinità dei Monti, dominated by the Trinità dei Monti church at the top. The Scalinata is the widest staircase in Europe...
in Rome. This grand staircase approach to a building was to be invaluable in Sicily, not only for the practical reasons of entering the piano nobile, but also for the creation of a grand approach to churches and cathedrals, where the topography of the site permits such a feature.
The ground floor of the Palazzo degli Elefanti
Palazzo degli Elefanti
Palazzo degli Elefanti is a historical building in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It currently houses the city's Town Hall....
in Catania (already in construction when Vaccarini came to the project) shows the decorated rustication
Rustication (architecture)
thumb|upright|Two different styles of rustication in the [[Palazzo Medici-Riccardi]] in [[Florence]].In classical architecture rustication is an architectural feature that contrasts in texture with the smoothly finished, squared block masonry surfaces called ashlar...
in a 16th century Sicilian fashion. The ground floor pilasters continue but unrusticated, the cornice
Cornice
Cornice molding is generally any horizontal decorative molding that crowns any building or furniture element: the cornice over a door or window, for instance, or the cornice around the edge of a pedestal. A simple cornice may be formed just with a crown molding.The function of the projecting...
they support is entirely in accordance with Roman contemporary design, as are the windows. The windows on the piano nobile have straight, but broken, pediments with canted sides, a theme commonly repoduced by Vaccarini in ensuing years. The free standing columns supporting a straight balcony endow a pompous grandeur to the entrance. The balcony was to become a feature of Sicilian Baroque, it was later to take many shapes, often curved, serpentine, or a combination of both juxtaposing. Such balconies were often decorated with elaborate wrought iron balustrade.
In front of this building Vaccarini designed a fountain, consisting in an obelisk
Obelisk
An obelisk is a tall, four-sided, narrow tapering monument which ends in a pyramid-like shape at the top, and is said to resemble a petrified ray of the sun-disk. A pair of obelisks usually stood in front of a pylon...
upon the back of the elephant u Liotru (symbol of Catania), inspring to the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili , called in English Poliphilo's Strife of Love in a Dream, is a romance said to be by Francesco Colonna and a famous example of early printing...
. Vaccarini completed the square by designing the main facade of the cathedral, a thirty year project not completed until 1768. According to Professor Anthony Blunt
Anthony Blunt
Anthony Frederick Blunt , was a British art historian who was exposed as a Soviet spy late in his life.Blunt was Professor of the History of Art at the University of London, director of the Courtauld Institute of Art, Surveyor of the King's Pictures and London...
, the cathedral was not one of Vaccarini's successes.
As a church architect Vaccarini introduced into Sicily the church plans of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
which had passed Sicily by. However, many of his churches are based on the designs of churches he had seen in Rome. The church of S. Agata in Catania, for instance, is based on 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...
(Rome).
Vaccarini's Baroque became prevalent in Catania, and much copied for three quarters of a century. However, he was not employed only in Sicily, since in 1756 he journeyed to Naples
Naples
Naples 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...
to aid Vanvitelli
Vanvitelli
Both father and son are often tagged with the name Vanvitelli:* Caspar van Wittel, painter of Baroque vedute* Luigi Vanvitelli, his son, noted Rococo architect of Rome and Naples...
and Ferdinando Fuga
Ferdinando Fuga
Ferdinando Fuga was an Italian architect, whose main works were realized in Rome and Naples in the Baroque style.-Biography:Born in Florence, he began to work in that city as a pupil of Giovanni Battista Foggini. In 1717 he moved to Rome, to continue his apprentice studies...
in the construction of the marble Palace of Caserta. Vanvitelli's influence is clearly visible in Vaccarini's final works, especially the Collegio Cutelli and the Piccola Badia.
Vaccarini died in Palermo in 1768.