Giacomo della Porta

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Giacomo della Porta (c. 1533 - 1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked for many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica (italian: Basilica di San Pietro in Vaticano).

Façade of the famous church of Gesù in Rome.
Enlarge
Façade of the famous church of Gesù in Rome.

[edit] Biography

Della Porta was born at Porlezza, Lombardy.

Della Porta was influenced by and collaborated with Michelangelo, and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola, his teacher of architecture. After 1563 he carried out Michelangelo's plans for the rebuilding of the capital's open spaces: in the Capitol Hill, della Porta intervened on the façade and steps of Palazzo Senatorio, and the Cordonata capitolina. After the death of Vignola in 1573, he continued the construction of Il Gesu, and in 1584 modified its façade after his own designs. From 1573 he was leader for the ongoing reconstruction of St. Peter's Basilica, and later, in collaboration with Domenico Fontana, completed the cupola in 1588-1590.

Giacomo della Porta completed much of Rome's fountains from 16th century. These include the fountains in Piazza del Popolo, the Fontana di Nettuno and Fontana del Moro in Piazza Navona.

He died in Rome in 1602.

[edit] Selected works

This article about an architect is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: