FONTANA. - Name of numerous artists, especially architects, born or originating from Ticino, between the 16th and 18th centuries; the most notable are the following:
DOMENICO, b. at Melide in 1543, d. at Naples in 1604, linked his name to the transformation of Rome desired by Sixtus V with the laying out of the straight streets radiating from S. Maria Maggiore toward the other basilicas, and the joining of these by means of other great roads; the vast conception, left interrupted by the death of the Pontiff, preludes to modern town-planning criteria. In the obelisks erected at the end of the streets, the aesthetic function is joined by a spiritual meaning, through the placing of the Cross atop the pagan symbols. In these works F. also gave proof of great technical expertise, and his transport of the Vatican obelisk, of which he left a description, remained famous.
In his vast activity, in which the vaulting of the dome of St. Peter's together with Giacomo della Porta (v.) is also to be remembered, the figure of the architect is associated with that of the contractor (Villa Montalto, chapel of the Presepio in S. Maria Maggiore, Lateran Palace, Vatican Library).
Having left Rome after the death of the Pope, F. went to Naples, where he carried out other great works, both town-planning
(widening of Via S. Lucia and Via Chiaia, the square in front of the Castle) and building works (Royal Palace, Customs House), showing himself an expert builder rather than a brilliant architect. It should be remembered that during the excavations for the Sarno diversion canal he was the first to come upon the ruins of Pompeii, without however identifying them.
GIOVANNI, brother of the preceding, b. at Melide in 1540, d. at Rome in Aug. 1614. Particularly versed in hydraulics, he brought the Acqua Felice to Rome during the pontificate of Sixtus V, then the Acqua Paola, partly restoring the ancient Alexandrine and Trajan aqueducts. He provided the designs for the display fountains of these waters, at S. Bernardo and on the Janiculum (the latter together with Maderno) and for the lesser fountain at the end of Via Giulia, today rebuilt on the right bank of the Tiber at the head of Ponte Sisto. He also devised the water displays for the Aldobrandini and Borghese (today Torlonia) villas at Frascati. Other works of his are the bridges of Acquapendente over the Paglia and of Borghetto over the Tiber (destroyed in the Second World War).
His activity as an architect is scant: the oldest part of Palazzo Barberini, executed for Cardinal Alessandro Sforza, is due to him: the beginning of Palazzo Giustiniani and the palace of Torrenova with its adjoining church on the Via Casilina, for Cardinal Scipione Borghese.
Bibliography2 works
CARLO, b. at Mendrisio in 1638, d. at Rome in 1714, was at first a collaborator of Bernini at the Ariccia and in the Palazzo Chigi (now Odescalchi) in Piazza SS. Apostoli. The first work he completed on his own was the elegant little church of S. Rita da Cascia at the foot of the Capitoline Hill (demolished in 1928 and rebuilt on the Via del Mare).
To him are due restorations and completions of numerous churches (interior of S. Maria dei Miracoli, 1679; facade of S. Marcello, 1686; portico of S. Maria in Trastevere, 1702; entrance to S. Teodoro, 1704), and the construction of various chapels (Ginnetti in S. Andrea della Valle; Cybo in S. Maria del Popolo, etc.), and of palaces, among them the Bigazzini (later Torlonia) palace, in Piazza Venezia (1676), demolished in 1900, and the Grimani, today Tittoni, in Via Rasella.
His most notable activity was that devoted to the construction of public buildings, under the pontificates of Innocent XII (Dogana di Terra and Piazza di Pietra; Dogana di Mare and Ripa Grande; and the transformation into a seat of tribunals of the palace left unfinished by Cardinal Ludovisi at Montecitorio, which took the name of Curia Innocenziana), and of Clement XI (Ospizio di S. Michele and Biblioteca Casanatense). Of his activity outside Rome we recall the dome of the cathedral of Montefiascone, the Palazzo Durazzo (later Reale) in Genoa (1705), and some villas in the Sienese territory; he also sent abroad designs for buildings, among them one for the cathedral of Fulda.
His ingenious projects for the urban planning of the Borghi and of the area around Montecitorio remained unexecuted, but descriptions of them survive in his fundamental work on Il Tempio Vaticano and in the Discorso sopra l'antico Monte Cittorio.
Bibliography2 works
FRANCESCO, son of the preceding, b. in Rome in 1668, collaborated with his father on the Dogana di Terra and in other minor works. His is the rebuilding of the church of the SS. Apostoli, left unfinished because of his death in 1708.
GIROLAMO, son of a brother of Carlo, was active from 1690 to 1714. His principal work is the facade of the cathedral of Frascati, where he also executed the large fountain of the piazza; he was an expert in hydraulics, as the construction of the aqueduct of Anzio attests.
CARLO STEFANO, brother of the preceding, active in Rome between 1711 and 1728. He was a benefited abbot of S. Giovanni in Laterano, where he executed the decoration of the transept. He is remembered for the facade and the renovation of the interior of S. Clemente.
Bibliography
PROSPERO, painter, b. in Bologna in 1512, d. there in 1597. He was a disciple of Innocenzo da Imola, and as a youth was in Genoa as assistant to Perin del Vago in the decoration of Palazzo Doria. His activity unfolded almost exclusively in Bologna, where he painted for various churches (Ma-
