Giovanni Battista di Quadro
Encyclopedia
Giovanni Battista di Quadro (pol. Jan Baptysta Quadro, lat.
Lat.
Lat. or lat. is an abbreviation for:*Latin*latitude*Mohammad Nor Khalid or Lat, a Malaysian cartoonist...

 Joannes Baptista Quadro) (died between 10 April 1590 and 16 January 1591) was a Polish-Italian renaissance architect, one of the most famous architects in Central Europe in his epoque.

Biography

He was born probably in Ponte Tresa
Ponte Tresa
Ponte Tresa is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Ponte Tresa is first mentioned in 818 as ad Tresiae Pontem, though this comes from a 12th Century copy of the earlier document. In 875 it was mentioned as Ponte Tretia...

 or Cadro
Cadro
Cadro is a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.-History:Cadro is first mentioned in 735 as Cadelo. Under the Lombards kings, Cadro was mentioned in connection with the Totoniden from Campione d'Italia as a Vicus in 854. Some of the major landholders...

, near Lugano
Lugano
Lugano is a city of inhabitants in the city proper and a total of over 145,000 people in the agglomeration/city region, in the south of Switzerland, in the Italian-speaking canton of Ticino, which borders Italy...

 (today Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

).

Until 1550 he probably worked in Saxony
Saxony
The Free State of Saxony is a landlocked state of Germany, contingent with Brandenburg, Saxony Anhalt, Thuringia, Bavaria, the Czech Republic and Poland. It is the tenth-largest German state in area, with of Germany's sixteen states....

 and Silesia
Silesia
Silesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...

, but in 13 March 1550 he signed a contract with the city council of Poznań
Poznan
Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

 for rebuilding the town hall. In 1551 with the agreement of the council he went to Płock as a consultant on the renovation of the cathedral. In the same year his name was mentioned in the court books of Poznań because of links between him and the Bishop of Poznań Benedykt Izdebski relating to building the bishop's palace in Krobia
Krobia
Krobia is a town situated in the western part of Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. Center of small folklore region - Biskupizna.- Monuments :...

. From 1552 to 1562 di Quadro was the City Architect of Poznań, but the City Council paid him also in 1563, 1566, 1567 and 1570 for minor works. During these years, he worked for the citizens of Poznań and the clergy and nobles of Greater Poland
Greater Poland
Greater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...

.

From 1568 to 1572 he worked in Warsaw
Warsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...

 rebuilding today's Royal Castle.

His many well paid jobs made him wealthy. However, after he retired in 1573, he died as an indebted person in Poznań.

In years 1550-1552 in Poznań worked also his brothers Antoni, Gabriel and Kilian di Quadro.

Existing

  • Poznań City Hall
    Poznan City Hall
    Poznań Town Hall or Ratusz is a building in the city of Poznań in western Poland, located in the Old Market Square in the centre of the Old Town neighbourhood. It served as the city's administrative building until 1939, and now houses a museum...

     (reinessance rebuild in 1550 -1560)
  • tomb of Bishop Adam Konarski in Poznań cathedral
  • Building of Scale in Poznań (renaissance rebuild in 1563 and renovation in 1573. In 1890 Scale was demolished, but after World War II
    World War II
    World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

     it was rebuilt on di Quadro's original plans.)

Disappeared

  • private houses in Poznań
    • Stary Rynek 84 (after 1554)
    • Ślusarska Str. (1559)
    • Stary Rynek 39 (1561)
    • Stary Rynek 81 (1563)
    • Stary Rynek 52 (before 1579)
    • Plac Kolegiacki (since 1568, not finished. Renovated, probably based on his project in years 1958-1960)
  • Royal Castle in Warsaw
    Royal Castle, Warsaw
    The Royal Castle in Warsaw is a castle residency and was the official residence of the Polish monarchs. It is located in the Castle Square, at the entrance to the Warsaw Old Town. The personal offices of the king and the administrative offices of the Royal Court of Poland were located there from...

     (1568-1572) (reproductions of his original work is visible)
  • House of priests of St. Stanislaus in Poznań (Za Bramką Str., 1571 - 1574)
  • minor works in Poznań cathedral

Probable

Works (existing and no longer existing) attributable to him, on analysis of style and unverfied documents):
  • Chapel of Kościeleccy family in Kościelec
    Koscielec
    Kościelec may refer to the following places in Poland:mountains:*Kościelec, 2155 m a.s.l., a mountain in Polish part of High Tatras villages, towns:*Kościelec, Pomeranian Voivodeship...

     near Inowrocław (about 1559)
  • private house on Wrocławska Str. 11 in Poznań
    Poznan
    Poznań is a city on the Warta river in west-central Poland, with a population of 556,022 in June 2009. It is among the oldest cities in Poland, and was one of the most important centres in the early Polish state, whose first rulers were buried at Poznań's cathedral. It is sometimes claimed to be...

  • gate and tower of bridge in Łacina (today Poznań) (1560)
  • renovation of tower of not existing Poznań Collegiate church
  • Jesuits College in Poznań (1572)
  • Shearing hall w Poznaniu
  • Cloth hall in Poznań
  • Trade hall w Poznaniu (1563)
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK