JUVARA (JUVARRA), FILIPPO. - Architect and engraver, b. in Messina on 16 June 1678, d. in Madrid on 31 Jan. 1736. From his father, a chaser, he learned the art of drawing, at the same time completing the studies that prepared him for an ecclesiastical career. One of his first architectural conceptions was that concerning the temporary structures 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 Academy of St. Luke. Welcomed at the papal court, he devoted himself to theatrical architecture and stage design.
He traveled through Italy, always occupied with many projects, but he carried on his activity principally in the service of Amadeus II of Savoy, to whom he was presented when the latter was in Messina to take possession of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies (1714). Again in Messina, by order of Amadeus II, he designed the enlargement of the Royal Palace, which was later destroyed; and in Dec. of the same year he earned the title of "first civil architect to the king." From this time begins the most brilliant period of his activity. F. J. in Turin in 1715 completed the facade of S. Cristina; the following year the Porta Susa quarters. In the first months of 1716 he prepared the wooden models for the church and convent of Superga and for the chapel of Venaria Reale. Two years later he began the construction work of the grand staircase of Palazzo Madama and completed the designs for the Castle of Rivoli and the church of S. Croce. There immediately followed those for the Palazzo del Senato, Palazzo Birago di Borgaro, Palazzo Martini di Cigala and the crowning of the bell tower of the Cathedral. Summoned by King John V of Portugal to Lisbon in Nov. 1719, he designed the lighthouse of that capital's port and other very important buildings such as: a royal palace, a patriarchal church, a palace for the patriarch and a canonry for a locality that has not been identified. This activity of his procured for him the title of "knight of the Order of Christ." He remained in Lisbon about a year, from there he went to London, again as a guest of the Portuguese king, then to Paris. In the first months of 1721 he is recorded in Rome. On returning to Turin he resumed the interrupted works (Superga-Venaria-Rivoli), executed Palazzo Richa di Coassolo, the hunting lodge of Stupinigi, the facade of Palazzo Guarene and drew up a good number of designs for villas and palaces in various localities of the Savoyard state. Among these important are the design of the Oratory of St. Philip (1723) and the urban plan of Porta Vittoria (1731), the charterhouse of Collegno (1726) and the entrance of the church of the Madonna d'Oropa. In 1728 he received the appointment of commendatory abbot of the abbey of Selve. Summoned to Rome, he designed 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, staying in Rome particularly in winter, when in Piedmont masonry work 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, when by then his fame had reached its apogee. He was entrusted with the construction of the Royal Palace of Madrid and J., while awaiting the choice of the site for the construction, designed the Granja of S. Ildefonso and the Castle of Aranjuez. However, when he had almost finished 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 and to these he conformed his works, although it is not difficult to identify in him Baroque influences of Borromini and Bernini. F. J. loved and studied the classics, executing many surveys of ancient monuments. Though sensitive to French influences, he remained independent of them, always deliberately far from complications and from rhetoric. From the Baroque he adopted the plastic language, in order to draw from it chiaroscuro vigor. Columns and pilasters are a living expression of his feeling; cornices with strong projection supported by brackets, and luminous round arches create those masterly contrasts of light and shadow that appear as the principal characteristic of J.'s work. - See plates XLI-XLII.
Bibliography6 works
Pietro Gazzola