Ferdinando Sanfelice

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Stairway within the Palazzo Serra di Cassano in Naples.
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Stairway within the Palazzo Serra di Cassano in Naples.

Ferdinando Sanfelice (1675-1748). Italian painter and architect of the Baroque. Born and died in Naples. One of the principal architects in Naples in the first half of the 1700s. He was a student of Francesco Solimena. He was known primarily for temporary displays and secular architecture. The former involve displays such as those set up for royal visits and births as well as for religious celebrations; the latter include a large number of family dwellings in Naples, including his own Palazzao Sanfelice, built between 1723 and 1728, and the Palazzo Serra di Cassano, finished around 1730. Most notable in Sanfelice's architecture are the staircases; rather than being incidental features set off to the side in a courtyard, they are moved to central and prominent positions and become important architectural features in their own right, often being double staircases. Sanfelice also worked on churches in Naples, among which are San Lorenzo Maggiore (Naples), San Giovanni a Carbonara, and the chapel of the Nunziatella.

[edit] further reading

  • Blunt, Anthony (1975). Neapolitan Baroque and Rococo Architecture. A. Zwemmer. ISBN 0302025847.
  • Morrice, R. J. (1983). "Sanfelice and St Florian: Indigenous Tradition and Staircase Design". Architectural History 26: 82-86+157-159. ISSN 0066622X.