CANIANA, GIAN BATTISTA. — Architect, woodcarver, and inlayer, born at Roniano on 8 May 1671, died at Bergamo on 5 May 1745. He was the most important artist of the famous family that for approximately a century practiced the arts of woodcarving and inlay in the Bergamo area.
His activity, based in Alzano, where he settled in 1694, radiated throughout all the neighboring centers, where the finest part of his production remains, consisting of choirs, choir stalls, cabinets, confessionals, and pulpits richly decorated with floral motifs, putti, and birds, among which inlaid panels are inserted. A notable example of this manner is found in the sacristy of Alzano. Among his architectural works are the oratory of S. Maddalena, the parish church of Borgo S. Caterina, and the vault of the church of S. Spirito in Bergamo.
His children GIUSEPPE and CATERINA achieved a certain renown not only as their father’s collaborators but also for the numerous works they left, such as altar ornaments, cabinets, confessionals, etc., in the churches of Rosate, Borgo S. Caterina, the Reformed church of Alzano, and that of the same fathers in Brescia.
GIACOMO, Giuseppe’s son, was the last member of the family of any importance; his name is particularly associated with the work carried out for the Colleoni Chapel in Bergamo.