CASTELLO, Giovanni Battista, known as Il Bergamasco. — Painter and architect, born in Gandino (Bergamo) around 1509, died in Madrid in 1569. Initially a pupil of Aurelio Russo in Genoa, he became acquainted with the work of Pierino del Vaga and Luca Cambiaso, whose manner he subsequently followed; in Rome he completed his artistic education. In 1552 he was again in Genoa, where he carried out intense activity especially as an architect, reflecting the forms of Galeazzo Alessi.
Among the most significant works of C. in the field of painting are the frescoes at the Nunziata di Portoria and those in the palace of the Prefecture of Bergamo; in architecture, the Carrega-Cataldi, Doria, and Podestà palaces in Genoa. Notable is his intervention in the renovation of the Gothic church of S. Matteo (completed in 1559). Among his religious constructions we may also recall the chapel in the church of S. Caterina. In 1567 he went to Spain in the service of Philip II.