Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola
Italian Mannerist architect, author of a canonical treatise on the five orders.
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Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (1 October 1507 – 7 July 1573), often simply called Vignola, was one of the great Italian architects of 16th-century Mannerism. His two great masterpieces are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Jesuits' Church of the Gesù in Rome. He is often considered the most important architect in Rome in the Mannerist era, and along with Serlio and Palladio, one of the three architects who spread the Italian Renaissance style throughout Western Europe.
Background
Jacopo Barozzi was born at Vignola, near Modena. He began his career as an architect in Bologna, supporting himself by painting and making perspective templates for inlay craftsmen.
He made his first trip to Rome in 1536 to make measured drawings of Roman temples, with a thought to publish an illustrated Vitruvius. Then François I called him to Fontainebleau, where he spent the years 1541–1543, probably meeting the architect Sebastiano Serlio and the painter Primaticcio. After his return to Italy, he designed the Palazzo Bocchi in Bologna and later moved to Rome, where he worked for Pope Julius III and, after the pope's death, was taken up by the Farnese family and worked with Michelangelo, who deeply influenced his style.
In 1558, Vignola was in Piacenza to revise the designs of Palazzo Farnese, commissioned by Margaret of Austria. From 1564 he carried on Michelangelo's work at St Peter's Basilica and constructed the two subordinate domes according to Michelangelo's plans.
He died in Rome in 1573; his remains were reburied in the Pantheon in 1973. His major works include the Villa Farnese at Caprarola (1559–1573), Villa Lante at Bagnaia (from 1566), the Church of the Gesù in Rome, and the first church with an oval dome, Sant'Andrea in Via Flaminia. He also submitted plans for completing the facade of San Petronio, Bologna, though they were not built.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola?
Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola was a leading Italian architect of the 16th-century Mannerist period, often referred to simply as Vignola. He is widely regarded as the most significant architectural figure working in Rome during that era and is credited, alongside Serlio and Palladio, with carrying Renaissance design principles across Western Europe.
What are Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola's most famous works?
His two crowning achievements are the Villa Farnese at Caprarola and the Church of the Gesù in Rome, the latter of which became the mother church of the Jesuit order. Both buildings remain landmark examples of Mannerist architectural composition.
What is Vignola's treatise Regola delli cinque ordini d'architettura?
It is a systematic treatise in which Vignola laid out the proportions and rules governing the five classical orders of architecture. The text went on to become one of the most widely used and influential architectural reference works of its time.
Where and when was Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola born, and where did he die?
He was born on 1 October 1507 in the small town of Vignola near Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy. He died in Rome on 7 July 1573, having spent the final decades of his career working in the capital.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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