TRONCHI, BARTOLOMEO. - Jesuit, woodcarver, b. at Brezzo (Firenze) in 1529, d. at Roma on 23 Nov. 1604.
Having entered the Order at Roma in 1564, already mature and accomplished in his craft, he spent the rest of his life moving from one Jesuit church to another, thus travelling throughout Italy and everywhere leaving a not easily forgotten mark with his tabernacles, crucifixes, coffered ceilings, and altar ornaments. Many of these works, however, were destroyed (for example, the tabernacles of Siena and Nola, of the Gesù in Roma, and of the Gesù in Palermo); but those of the Gesù in Perugia (with a crucifix and the coffered ceiling), of S. Giovannino in Firenze, the wonder of the court and of foreigners, and the crucifix in the sacristy of the Gesù in Roma are still preserved. The artistic forms of T., marked by a refined and austere Tuscan taste, were soon replaced by other works richer and more sumptuous, and less suited to the liturgical spirit.
(phot. Alinari)
THRONE – Episcopal throne (14th century) – Naples, Cathedral.