Carlo Fontana Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

- by Pavel Kalina
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- Art, Baroque art and architecture, Prague, Carlo Fontana
- by Giuseppe Bonaccorso
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- Malta, History of Malta, Carlo Fontana, Romano Fortunato Carapecchia
- by Jacopo Curzietti
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- Art History, Sculpture, Italian Baroque art, Baroque Sculpture
- by Giuseppe Bonaccorso
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- Ancient History, Cultural History, Roman History, Cultural Heritage
- by Francesco Grisolia
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- Archaeology, Prints, Art History, Topography of Ancient Rome (Archaeology)
- by stefano pierguidi
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- Carlo Fontana, Domenico Guidi, Carlo Maratta
- by Alessandro Spila
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- Carlo Fontana, Francesco Fontana, Colonna Family, Nicola Michetti

Between 1675 and 1690, a decisive span of years in Carlo Fontana’s career, the Roman publisher Giovanni Giacomo De Rossi produced some books of prints illustrating the major buildings of modern Rome: palace facades (“Nuovi Disegni delle architetture e piante dei Palazzi di Roma”, circa 1675), church facades (“Insignium Romae Templorum Prospectus”, 1683 and then 1684 in a new expanded edition), and finally church interiors (“Disegni di vari Altari e Cappelle”, 1688 or 1689). The paper focuses on the relation between De Rossi’s publications and the self-promotion strategy adopted by Fontana to attain professional success. Initially, he ensured that two of his works were included among the buildings presented in “Nuovi disegni” (Palazzo Bigazzini) and “Prospectus” (San Marcello al Corso), even before they were completed. Later, he achieved to be present in “Disegni” with more plates than any other living architect, and one can even suppose that he actually played a role in planning that publication and selecting the works to be shown there. Furthermore, around 1690 German editions of both “Prospectus” and “Disegni” were published in Nuremberg by Johann Jakob von Sandrart and they spread rapidly throughout the Empire and the kingdom of Prussia, and even more widely in Europe.

- by Aloisio Antinori
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- Art History, Book History, History of the Book, Architectural History

The church of Ss. Faustino and Giovita in Rome was built by the Brescian confraternity in 1575, after they obtained the necessary papal permit for an intervention within the ruins of an unfinished palace of justice (palazzo dei Tribunali) by Donato Bramante. This space played an important role in Rome's public life, as during the sixteenth century theatrical productions were staged within its walls and one of the first Tiber traghetto dockings was situated nearby. The Brescian community also established a national hospice within the ruins, which was demolished, together with their church, during the late nineteenth-century rebuilding of the Tiber banks. This paper investigates the notion of identity of the Brescian "Nation" (the city of Brescia being ruled by the Republic of Venice, which itself was represented in Rome through different buildings and institutions). It focuses on the activity of Carlo Fontana, the official architect of both the Serenissima and the Brescian confraternity, who designed the new façade of the church of Ss. Faustino and Giovita, as well as many new features of the Venetian embassy in Rome, now known as Palazzo Venezia. Fontana also designed projects in Brescia and neighbouring towns such as Bergamo and Como, as well as different projects in the Veneto, which will be explored here from a comparative perspective.

- by Giuseppe Bonaccorso
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- Roman History, Architecture, Early Modern History, Architectural History

Il libro cerca di ricostruire i diversi tentativi di realizzare una chiesa nell’arena dell’Anfiteatro Flavio succedutisi dal 1675 al 1708 ad opera di Gian Lorenzo Bernini e di Carlo Fontana. Si tratta di iniziative che avrebbero, allo stesso tempo, protetto i ruderi del Colosseo e trasformato la struttura antica in un santuario che doveva far parte dei percorsi giubilari dei fedeli in visita a Roma.
In particolare, l’operazione che voleva condurre Fontana era affascinante quanto ambigua: da una parte studiare la storia dell’Anfiteatro Flavio al confronto con gli altri circhi nel Mediterraneo; dall’altra ricordare le peripezie dei martiri cristiani periti nell’arena proponendo la costruzione di una chiesa nel Colosseo, la cui integrità era ormai ridotta dopo le continue spoliazioni e il terremoto del 1703. Il contrasto tra la nuova chiesa a pianta circolare collocata sopra l’arena e i ruderi delle strutture dei palchi dell’anfiteatro creavano una scenografica ambientazione barocca dal carattere fortemente emotivo.

Carlo Fontana’s analysis of the structural stability of the dome of the Cathedral of Montefiascone
The configuration of the Cathedral of Montefiascone near Viterbo is the result of numerous interventions, beginning in the last years of the 1400s up until the end of the 19th century, under the supervision of at least four architects and some eight bishops and cardinals.
Carlo Fontana’s contribution is the most significant, in particular the hemispheric dome he built, whose formidable mass dominates the surrounding countryside. The stability of Fontana’s work, because of its remarkable dimensions, even though admired for its imposing appearance and originality, was the subject of much pointed criticism. The presence of some cracks in the bearing masonry have only accentuated fears about its possible collapse.
Carlo Fontana defends his actions in a detailed appraisal he prepared in 1673, in which he analyses and justifies, in minute detail, his technical choices and design approach. The document, which is preserved in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, is a document of inestimable value because of its intrinsic quality, as it is accompanied by various technical drawings. Moreover, it allows scholars to reconstruct the entire creative process that guided the architect’s design (without having to resort to any subjective interpretation), as well as appreciate the technical and scientific competence that more than justifies the fame Fontana achieved.

- by Maria Agostiano
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- Beni Culturali, Consolidamento Edifici Storici, Carlo Fontana
- by Federico Bulfone Gransinigh
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- Polish History, Gianlorenzo Bernini, Francesco Borromini, Polonia

Protagonista dell’architettura al crepuscolo del barocco, Carlo Fontana (1638-1714) si fa interprete di una società in graduale mutamento, dedicandosi alla progettazione di edifici che hanno il pregio di misurarsi con tipologie innovative per quel tempo. Le sue elaborazioni si dispiegano dai manufatti di uso domestico, agli interni, all’architettura civile, religiosa e militare, fino alle più impegnative infrastrutture urbane e territoriali. La regolarizzazione dei procedimenti edilizi, l’attenzione per un’architettura che risponda a criteri sociali e assistenziali, l’ottimizzazione dei servizi, sono tutti elementi alla base della ricerca di Fontana, il quale interpretò e valorizzò le idee e i procedimenti già avviati da Gian Lorenzo Bernini, da Francesco Borromini, da Pietro da Cortona e da Carlo Rainaldi.
Fontana persegue la codificazione di un nuovo linguaggio architettonico, comprensibile e trasmissibile, realizzando un diverso lessico barocco, che venne esportato in tutte le maggiori corti d’Europa. Laddove Bernini, Borromini e Cortona cercavano l’individualità dell’architettura, Fontana mette in discussione proprio l’individualità, a favore della costruzione di un repertorio comune europeo.
Nel 2014, in occasione della ricorrenza del trecentesimo anniversario della morte di Carlo Fontana, l’Accademia Nazionale di San Luca, in collaborazione con la Bibliotheca Hertziana - Max-Planck-Institut für Kunstgeschichte, gli ha dedicato un convegno internazionale, con l’intento di analizzare l’orizzonte cosmopolita che ha caratterizzato la produzione, l’insegnamento e il pensiero di Fontana, Celebrato Architetto.
Questo volume raccoglie gli esiti delle tre giornate di studi e del dibattito che ne è seguito. Con riconoscenza il volume è dedicato a Hellmut Hager.

The Fontana family, which has always been known as an exponent of architecture and stucco decoration between the 17th and 18th centuries, has in Carlo Fontana the greatest representative in the field of architecture. Carlo collaborated in many projects with the sculptor, plasterer and decorator Antonio Raggi, who was also the master of Carlo’s cousin, Baldassarre Fontana. With this article we would like to outline the relationship between the decorations and the architectures of Carlo Fontana and the continuity and discontinuity of this relationship also implemented by his cousin Baldassarre. The contacts with many plasterers, coming from the territories of northern Italy and Switzerland, also requested by Carlo, allowed both the use of “known” labour within the construction sites followed by Fontana and a dissemination of knowledge of stucco’s art in central Italy. This task was also carried out by the sculptor and plasterer Raggi, who worked with the architect from Rancate and played an important role in Baldassarre Fontana’s stylistic training. Baldassarre also experimented with late Baroque languages in the Moravian and Polish construction sites. The plastic arts are a common thread that accompanies both the “genealogy” of the Fontana family and the architectures that were designed and decorated by it.
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Rodzina Fontanów, której członkowie od zawsze są postrzegani jako eksponenci architektury i dekoracji stiukowej XVII i XVIII wieku, ma swojego największego przedstawiciela na niwie architektury w osobie Carla Fontany. Carlo współpracował przy wielu projektach z rzeźbiarzem, tynkarzem i dekoratorem Antoniem Raggim, który również był mistrzem kuzyna Carla, Baldassarre’a Fontany. Niniejszy artykuł zarysowuje związek pomiędzy dekoracjami a dziełami architektonicznymi Carla Fontany oraz kontynuację tego związku lub jej brak w przypadku działalności Baldassarre’a. Kontakty z wieloma tynkarzami, pochodzącymi z północnej części Włoch i Szwajcarii, o które zabiegał również Carlo, pozwoliły Fontanom rozpowszechnić wiedzę na temat sztuki stiukowej w środkowych Włoszech. Swój udział miał w tym również rzeźbiarz i tynkarz Raggi, który pracował z architektem z Rancate i odegrał ważną rolę w ukształtowaniu stylistycznym Baldassarre’a. Baldassarre eksperymentował również z późnobarokowymi stylami na morawskich i polskich placach budowy. Sztuki plastyczne stanowią wspólny wątek wiążący się zarówno z „genealogią” rodziny Fontanów, jak i dziełami architektonicznymi, które były projektowane i dekorowane przez jej przedstawicieli.

The stages of Carlo Fontana’s journey to Lombardy (June-
November 1688), acknowledged as a turning point for the
architectural taste in the Stato di Milano, are well known. Less is
known about the reasons and aims for this tour, except that the
architect was summoned by the Borromeos to assist with the
building of their palace on Isola Bella. New documentation shows
how that summoning became for Fontana the opportunity of a selfpromotion
tour among the relatives of Innocent XI Odescalchi,
who was native of the city of Como, in Lombardy. The architect’s
«very high claims» are reported in the correspondence with Livio
Odescalchi, brother-in-law of Carlo IV Borromeo Arese; despite
this, Fontana aroused the interest of the local aristocracy and was
involved in the most interesting building sites in Lombardy (Isola
Bella, Milano, Como, Bergamo, and Lodi). Although Fontana was
talkative and unscrupulous in his search of new customers, he was
regarded as one of the best architects of the time and consulted
for opinions, advice and plans, in the name of the «good taste of
Rome».

- by Andrea Bonavita and +1
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- Carlo Fontana, Odescalchi
- by Federico Bulfone Gransinigh
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- Polish History, Painted Stucco Decoration, Polonia, Rococo
- by Jacopo Curzietti
- •
- Art History, Baroque Art and Literature, History of Sculpture, Sculpture

Lo studio è volto ad approfondire la lettura dei disegni costruttivi di Carlo Fontana per il Catafalco per le esequie romane di Pedro II di Portogallo, celebrate in Sant’Antonio dei Portoghesi nel 1707, elaborato secondo uno schema che si diffonderà in tutta l’Europa, favorito dalle relazioni con le corti europee.
Nella vasta attività dell’architetto, il progetto del catafalco per le esequie romane del sovrano portoghese si inserisce successivamente alla realizzazione dell’altare di Santa Maria in Traspontina del 1674, della macchina per l’Ariconfraternita di Santa Maria del Pianto del 1675, di cui rielabora alcuni elementi già espressi, ed immediatamente dopo l’apparato per le esequie di Leopoldo I d'Austria, in Santa Maria dell’Anima del 1705, per cui lo stesso tema viene, invece, articolato secondo uno schema diverso.
Dell’apparato per le celebrazioni memoriali di Pietro II sono conservati numerosi disegni di progetto; in particolare elaborazioni in cui l’architetto predispone diverse soluzioni per la pianta e per il baldacchino sospeso, otre che sezioni per l’alzato dei vari elementi e per la relazione con le figure e le decorazioni che rivestono la struttura.
I disegni mostrano diverse soluzioni, dal raffronto delle quali è possibile articolare alcune riflessioni fra le diverse proposte con quella prescelta, oltre che leggere le soluzioni costruttive in relazione a quelle formali.
Gli studi appaiono ricchi di informazioni: il dimensionamento delle parti strutturali, il proporzionamento reciproco di queste, il posizionamento all’interno dell’aula e la relazione dimensionale con questa, i materiali scelti e indicazioni circa la sequenza di montaggio degli elementi.

- by Barbara Tetti
- •
- Architecture, Eighteenth Century History, Carlo Fontana, Ephimeral architecture

Nel 2012 alcune inondazioni particolarmente intense del fiume Fiora hanno danneggiato il ponte della Badia nel Parco Archeologico di Vulci, che si trova tra Canino e Montalto di Castro. L’alluvione ha danneggiato la struttura del fiume, portando via porzioni di muro alla base del pilone destro, e trascinandole a valle. Le sezioni superstiti del pilone ora sono più piccole e le connessioni a muro sono state fortemente influenzate. In particolare, la violenza dell’inondazione ha “strappato” lo strato protettivo esterno, rendendo il pilone più vulnerabile a un ulteriore deterioramento.
Il ponte, che è noto come “Ponte dell’Arcobaleno”, insieme alla stretta gola scavata dal fiume e al castello dell’abbazia, formano una splendida vista panoramica che è stata disegnata da pittori e descritta da viaggiatori come George Dennis e David Herbert Lawrence.
Attraversa il Fiume Fiora in un punto in cui gli argini sono molto vicini tra loro, ma sebbene questa caratteristica abbia permesso la sua costruzione in epoca etrusca, durante le inondazioni il ponte restringe l’alveo laddove la corrente accelera fortemente. Ciò crea una criticità aggravata dall’ulteriore ostacolo di enormi massi, caduti dalle sponde ripide nel letto del fiume.
Nella prospettiva di un restauro, il ponte è stato meticolosamente esaminato per determinarne le caratteristiche costruttive e i materiali utilizzati. Questo studio ha incluso anche la storia della struttura, dai tempi più remoti a periodi relativamente recenti, quando ha subito un notevole restauro.
Come detto, il pilone destro è la parte del ponte più danneggiata dall’alluvione. Fortunatamente la forma della sponda del fiume in quel punto rende facile la costruzione di strutture temporanee per il restauro, che per ragioni di sicurezza dovrebbe essere completato in un brevissimo lasso di tempo, durante il periodo in cui le alluvioni sono statisticamente meno ricorrenti.
Per questi motivi e anche per i limitati fondi messi a disposizione dalla Soprintendenza dell’Etruria Meridionale, nella prima fase, il restauro si è concentrato sulla reintegrazione del pilone destro

- by Maria Grazia D'Amelio
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- Architectural History, Carlo Fontana
- by Federico Bulfone Gransinigh and +1
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- Architectural History, Renaissance Rome, History of architecture, Barocco
- by Fabio Colonnese
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- Visual perception, Baroque art and architecture, Perspective, Carlo Fontana

I. Benincampi, Carlo Fontana e l’innalzamento del livello del lago di Bracciano. Un piccolo ma efficace intervento di ingegneria idraulica sulla rete urbana dell’Acqua Paola, in «L’ACQUA», 5, (2014), pp. 96-101. ISSN: 1125-1255.

- by Iacopo Benincampi
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- Carlo Fontana, Acqua Paola
- by Jacopo Curzietti
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- Art History, Baroque Sculpture, Carlo Fontana, Roman Baroque Sculpture
- by Francesco Moschini
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- Roman History, Roman Architecture, Roman architectural ornament, Carlo Fontana
- by Giuseppe Bonaccorso
- •
- Carlo Fontana

Starting in 1929, Giovannoni inaugurated a close collaboration
with the Enciclopedia Italiana, for which he wrote some important
entries, including the architect, the architecture, Bramante, Antonio
da Sangallo, Domenico and Carlo Fontana. These choices do not appear to be random. Following Vitruvius’ definition, all these
architects prefigured a comprehensive designer who possessed skills
in all fields: from building to hydraulics, from historical knowledge to
representation, from restoration to urban and territorial planning. He
was practically an integral architect ante litteram. The essay follows the
evolutionary line delineated by Giovannoni in describing the figure of
this new polyspecialist designer placed within the realm of the Italian
artistic and historical tradition. The integral architect, prefigured by
Giovannoni and exemplified through various members of Sangallo and
Fontana clans, was a designer halfway between an engineer and an artist
and was endowed with a great knowledge of history and construction
techniques. The new architect therefore had to propose new buildings
that had to blend in with the environment and be respectful of the city's
history.

In 2012, some particularly intense flooding of the River Fiora damaged the bridge of the Badia in the Archaeological Park of Vulci, which lies between Canino and Montalto di Castro. The flood damaged the riverbed structure, carrying away portions of wall at the base of the right pillar, and dragging them downstream. The remaining sections of the pillar are now smaller and the wall connections have been badly affected. In particular, the flood’s violence “tore off” the protective external layer, making the pillar more vulnerable to further deterioration. The bridge, which is known as “Ponte dell’Arcobaleno” (Rainbow Bridge), together with the narrow gorge carved by the river and the abbey castle, form a beautiful panoramic view that has been drawn by painters and described by travellers, such as George Dennis and David Herbert Lawrence. It spans the Fiora at a point where the banks are very close together, but although this characteristic made it possible to build the bridge in Etruscan times, during floods the bridge blocks the riverbed in a place where the current flows significantly faster. This creates an obstruction that is worsened by the further obstacle of huge boulders, which have fallen off the steep banks into the riverbed. With the prospect of restoring the bridge, it was meticulously examined in order to determine the characteristics of its construction and the materials used. This study also included the history of the structure, from the remotest times to relatively recent periods, when it underwent considerable restoration. As already mentioned, the right pillar is the part of the bridge most damaged by the flood. Fortunately, the shape of the river bank at that point makes it easy to set up temporary structures for the restoration process, which for safety reasons should be completed in a very short space of time, during the period when floods are statistically less common.
For these reasons, and because of the limited funds made available by the Soprintendenza dell’Etruria Meridionale, the restoration will focus on repairing the remaining section of the right pillar

- by Fulvio Lenzo
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- History of architecture, Carlo Fontana
- by Anna Menichella
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- Baroque art and architecture, Carlo Fontana

LiberiLibri - Video presentazione dell'8 aprile 2022 del volume di Giuseppe Bonaccorso, Il Tempio dei Martiri al Colosseo. Un progetto «già in pronto» di Carlo Fontana, Texmat, ed. aggiornata, Roma 2020, con Sergio Pace, Giuseppe... more

- by Giuseppe Bonaccorso
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- Roman Amphitheater, History of architecture, Gianlorenzo Bernini, Colosseo
- by Andrea Bonavita
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- Carlo Fontana, Odescalchi, Storia di Como, Carlo Buratti