JUVARA (JUVARRA), FILIPPO. – Architect and engraver, born in Messina on 16 June 1678, died in Madrid on 31 January 1736. He learned the art of drawing from his father, a chaser, while at the same time pursuing studies that prepared him for an ecclesiastical career. One of his earliest architectural conceptions was the designs for the festivities that Messina organized for the coronation of Philip II. He then obtained permission to study architecture in Rome under the guidance of Carlo Fontana. Having won the competition announced by Clement XI, he was appointed a member of the Accademia di S. Luca. Welcomed at the papal court, he devoted himself to theatrical architecture and scenography.
He traveled throughout Italy, always occupied with numerous projects, but carried out his activity mainly in the service of Amadeus II of Savoy, to whom he was presented when the latter came to Messina to take possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1714). Also in Messina, by mandate of Amadeus II, he designed the enlargement of the Royal Palace, which was later destroyed; and in December of the same year he earned the title of “first civil architect to the king.” From this point onward began the most brilliant period of his activity. In 1715, while in Turin, he completed the façade of S. Cristina; the following year, the Porta Susa quarters. In the early months of 1716 he produced the wooden models for the church and convent of Superga and for the chapel of Venaria Reale. Two years later he began construction of the staircase of Palazzo Madama and completed the designs for the Castello di Rivoli and the church of S. Croce. Immediately thereafter followed those for Palazzo del Senato, Palazzo Birago di Borgaro, Palazzo Martini di Cigala, and the crowning of the bell tower of the Duomo. Called by King John V of Portugal to Lisbon in November 1719, he designed the lighthouse of that capital’s port and other highly important buildings, including a royal palace, a patriarchal church, a palace for the patriarch, and a canonry for an unidentified location. This activity earned him the title of “knight of the Order of Christ.” He remained in Lisbon for about a year, then went to London, still as a guest of the Portuguese king, and afterward to Paris. By the early months of 1721 he was back in Rome. Returning to Turin, he resumed interrupted works (Superga, Venaria, Rivoli), executed Palazzo Richa di Coassolo, the Palazzina di caccia of Stupinigi, the façade of Palazzo Guarene, and drew up a good number of designs for villas and palaces in various locations within the Savoyard state. Among these, important are the design for the Oratory of S. Filippo (1723), the urban plan of Porta Vittoria (1731), the charterhouse of Collegno (1726), and the entrance to the church of the Madonna d’Oropa. In 1728 he was appointed commendatory abbot of the abbey of Selve. Called to Rome as architect to a “permanent conclave,” and after the death of his master C. Fontana, he was elected architect of St. Peter’s. His activity was then divided between Rome and Turin, residing in Rome especially in winter, when masonry work in Piedmont was impossible because of the cold. In 1732 he executed in the capital, for Clement XII, a design for the sacristy of St. Peter’s; and in 1735 Philip V, who had known him at the court of Amadeus, summoned him to Spain, by which time his fame had reached its zenith. He was entrusted with the construction of the Royal Palace of Madrid, and while awaiting the selection of the site for its construction, he designed the Granja of S. Ildefonso and the Castle of Aranjuez. However, when he had nearly completed the wooden model of the Royal Palace, he was overtaken by death, and the execution of the Palace was carried out by Sacchetti. F. J. was buried in Madrid after solemn funeral honors.
He loved regularity and simplicity, to which he conformed his works, though it is not difficult to discern in him Baroque influences from Borromini and Bernini. F. J. loved and studied the classics, making many surveys of ancient monuments. Though sensitive to French influences, he remained independent of them, deliberately avoiding complications and rhetoric. From the Baroque he adopted the plastic language, drawing therefrom vigorous chiaroscuro. Columns and pilasters are a living expression of his sensibility; strongly projecting cornices supported by brackets, and luminous full-arch arcades create those masterly contrasts of light and shadow that appear as the principal characteristic of J.’s work. – See plates XLI–XLII.