In questo volume:
Iacopo Benincampi - Emanuele Gambuti, L’architettura gesuita polacco-ucraina nell’inedito portfolio di Giacomo Briano
Abstract: The discovery of a manuscript belonging to the Jesuit architect Giacomo Briano (1589-1649) has opened new avenues of inquiry into the architectural ‘modus nostrum’ promoted by the Society of Jesus during the 17th century. Dated November 19, 1621, this manuscript comprises annotated blueprints of Jesuit colleges under construction in the Polish Province of the time, encompassing present-day Poland and parts of Ukraine, including Krakow, Lublin, Łuck, Sandomierz, Lviv, Kalisz, and Poznań. These materials constitute an invaluable resource for understanding Jesuit planning and architectural practices in Central Europe during the Counter-Reformation. Furthermore, they offer a rare opportunity to deepen our understanding of the local history of several significant heritage sites, many of which are currently at risk.
Marco Pistolesi, Aggiunte all’opera di Filippo Raguzzini: “Il Nuovo Seminario Romano nella città di Tivoli, et altri casini de’ particolari nell’istessa città”
Abstract: In the curriculum submitted by Filippo Raguzzini to King Charles of Bourbon of Naples in 1736, is listed the “New Roman Seminary in Tivoli,” which the author of this study identifies as the large building now housing the town’s Court. This attribution is substantiated by numerous stylistic features of the structure, which was commissioned by the Society of Jesus between 1729 and 1736—coinciding with the construction of the five palaces of Piazza Sant’Ignazio in Rome. In the second part of the article, the author examines the “other private houses in the same town” mentioned in the curriculum and identifies design elements characteristic of Raguzzini in a villa commissioned by Cardinal Giovan Battista Salerno. This villa, constructed between 1724 and 1729, is attributed to Raguzzini based on stylistic analysis and the client’s connections. Cardinal Salerno, a Jesuit, had ties to Naples and was likely associated with the circle of Pope Benedict XIII Orsini and Cardinal Nicolò Coscia, the architect’s patron. The two buildings are located a short distance from each other along the road that, leaving the main town gate. This suburban area, now irrevocably altered by 20th-century urban development, valued for its environmental and archaeological significance, was particularly popular among members of the Arcadia Academy, which included numerous Jesuit clerics.
Francesco Dafano, Mauro Fontana tra cromatismo e ricerca spaziale: la cappella dei Cavallerini in San Carlo ai Catinari
Abstract: The architectural language of Mauro Fontana reflects the geometricized and attenuated Berninism that defined the work of the Fontana family beginning with the grandfather Carlo. The Cavallerini Chapel, shaped in part by the collaboration of the entrepreneur-stonemason Francesco Cerroti, serves as a venue for experimenting with marble combinations, drawing inspiration from the classical works of the preceding generation. Francesco Valle’s 1736 manuscript offers valuable insights regarding the preexisting structures.
Giorgia Alessandra D'Onofrio, Il Palazzo del Tribunato alla Cancelleria e l’attività di Andrea Vici per la Repubblica giacobina
Abstract: This study focuses on the analysis of several unpublished graphic works by Andrea Vici, preserved in the private Busiri Vici archive in Rome. These drawings, previously attributed to a courtroom project, are here identified as designs for the conversion of the Palazzo della Cancelleria in Rome into the headquarters of the Republican Tribunate. This commission formed part of the revolutionary process of secularization and redefinition of the civic identity of the papal city. With limited time and financial resources, the republican government entrusted the adaptation of various papal palaces into new administrative offices to professionals already active in the capital, including Andrea Vici. A closer examination of this significant project enriches our understanding of Vici’s Roman activity - less explored compared to his work in the Marche region - and, alongside other commissions for the Republic, positions the architect among the leading figures of Jacobin Rome.
Ambrogio Keoma, Restauro e riedizione critica del lessico architettonico: quattro chiese ferraresi
Abstract: The issue of architectural lexicon in the context of the restoration of façade colors is particularly sensitive and frequently subject to misinterpretations of the text. Ferrara exemplifies a city where historicist restorations or interventions lacking updated theoretical and methodological frameworks have systematically stripped away entire chromatic layers or obscured them with 19th- and early 20th-century applications. A series of recent post-earthquake restoration projects on churches in the area - closely monitored throughout the design and execution phases by the author in the capacity of a heritage preservation officer - has provided an opportunity to explore the topic in depth. These efforts have laid the groundwork for an approach rooted in careful stratigraphic analysis, the interpretation of the architectural text in its authenticity, and finally, its critical re- editing, based on a careful balance between the analysis of the historical material and philological study.
Fabrizio Di Marco, Un corso, la sua storia, i suoi metodi. Ricerche sulle cappelle gentilizie romane 1570-1620
Abstract: This short article introduces the seven contributions on Roman aristocratic chapels (1570–1620), selected from a large number of research topics assigned over the past decade in the course Storia e metodi di analisi dell’architettura, taught by the author and Augusto Roca De Amicis at the School of Specialization in Architectural and Landscape Heritage at Sapienza University of Rome. The article opens with a chronological overview of the course’s evolution from the 1970s to the present, tracing its various name changes up to its current designation, adopted in 1996. That year, Sandro Benedetti redefined the course with a stronger historical-critical emphasis, a distinctive feature that continues to characterize the approach of the current faculty.
Claudia Lattanzi, La cappella della Santissima Trinità in Santo Spirito in Sassia
Abstract: The Chapel of the Holy Trinity occupies a position of temporal succession and programmatic iconological continuity within the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia. The architectural integration of pictorial and sculptural languages reflects an interpretation of the prevailing experimental atmosphere, characterized by an exuberant decorative style. The artist responsible for this work is Livio Agresti, a painter associated with prestigious late Mannerist enterprises. From these, he incorporates elements of stylistic contamination, which he masterfully orchestrates in this chapel, achieving a formal synthesis with a significant perceptive impact.
Livia Colopardi, La cappella dell’Assunzione di Maria in Santo Spirito in Sassia
Abstract: The Chapel of the Assumption of Mary, located as the second chapel on the right upon entering the Church of Santo Spirito in Sassia, represents a significant decorative milestone for the church. This artistic endeavor took place during the pontificate of Gregory XIII, a key proponent of the artistic trends of the period. The chapel’s design exhibits strong ties to the aesthetic sensibilities of aristocratic residences, with an interplay of stuccoes and frescoes characterized by pronounced naturalistic and perspectival elements. These features evoke the collaborative artistic practices of the early 16th century, highlighting the importance of teamwork in achieving its cohesive decorative program.
Elisabetta Romano, La cappella della Madonna della Misericordia in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
Abstract: The Chapel of Our Lady of Mercy is, for multiple reasons, exceptional among the aristocratic chapels of the Basilica of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini. Although the Archconfraternity of the Florentines designated it as a prototype for the construction of the other chapels, its distinctive iconography and the legendary history of the Marian image at its altar render it singular within the basilica. In particular, the chapel embodies key aspects of architectural language in the second half of the sixteenth century, shaped by the reformist impulses of the Council of Trent. Within this context, a new approach to the art of marble craftsmanship—central to this chapel— emerged, redefining the organization of construction sites. Stonemasons, squarers, and draftsmen assumed increasingly prominent roles, and for the first time, the building process was conceived primarily as the product of collaborative labor among skilled artisans.
Francesca Gardino, La cappella del Santissimo Crocifisso in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
Abstract: The Sacchetti Chapel in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome, dedicated to the Most Holy Crucifix and attributed to Carlo Maderno for its stylistic innovations, represents a masterful synthesis of architecture, sculpture, and painting. It stands as a unique element within the church, distinguished not only by its rich, cultured, and refined patronage but also by its role as a transitional work that bridges a lingering 16th-century modus operandi and the emerging innovations of the Baroque. This essay examines the chapel’s historical and constructive development, shedding light on its significance within this pivotal artistic period.
Roberto Ragione, La cappella di San Filippo Benizi in San Giovanni dei Fiorentini
Abstract: The paper focuses on the Chapel of San Filippo Benizi in the Church of San Giovanni dei Fiorentini in Rome. The chapel has a complex and troubled history. Initially under the patronage of the Firenzuola family and dedicated to Saints Simon the Zealot and Jude Thaddeus, it was later requisitioned by the Company of the Pietà, which changed its dedication; first to Saint Philip Neri and subsequently to Saint Philip Benizi. Eventually, the Guicciardini family assumed patronage of the chapel, linking it also to the Bardi da Vernio family.
Serafina Cariglino, Francesca Lembo Fazio, La cappella della Madonna di Loreto in Sant’Onofrio al Gianicolo
Abstract: The Madruzzo Chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Loreto and first documented in 1500, is one of five chapels in the church of Sant’Onofrio al Gianicolo in Rome. This article examines the spatial and architectural transformations of the chapel during the late 16th and 17th centuries, a period when it was adopted as a patrician shrine by the Madruzzo family. The family also commissioned significant renovations to its decorative program. By drawing comparisons with contemporary Roman chapels, the study proposes a hypothesis attributing one of the chapel’s most sophisticated late-16th-century interventions to the hand of Carlo Maderno, reflecting the stylistic maturity of the period.
Susana López Verdú, La cappella della Pietà in San Pietro in Montorio
Abstract: The Chapel of the Pieta in the church of San Pietro in Montorio in Rome, commissioned by Pietro Cussida, a Spanish diplomat and trustee of King Philip III, exemplifies the link between the Iberian patronage and the Roman artistic scene of the early seventeenth century. This article explores the uncertainties of attribution associated with the making of the chapel, considering figures such as Giulio Mazzoni, Stefano Maderno and, in particular, Carlo Maderno, recognized as the most plausible architect. The scarcity of archival documentation continues to hinder a definitive resolution of the issue.