Camillo Camilliani ( fl. 1574–1603) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

architect, military engineer and sculptor. He is mostly known for the design of

watchtower A watchtower or watch tower is a type of fortification used in many parts of the world. It differs from a regular tower in that its primary use is military and from a turret in that it is usually a freestanding structure. Its main purpose is to ...

s and other fortifications around the coasts of

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Life

Camillani was born in

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany Regions of Italy, region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilan ...

sometime in the 16th century. He was the son of the sculptor Francesco Camilliani. In 1574, he and Michelangelo Naccherino directed the relocation of the Fontana Pretoria, which had been designed by his father, from Florence to Palermo. In July 1583, Viceroy

Marcantonio Colonna Marcantonio II Colonna (sometimes spelled Marc'Antonio; 1535 – August 1, 1584), Duke of Tagliacozzo and Duke and Prince of Paliano, was a Roman aristocrat who served as a Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, Spanish gener ...

invited him to Sicily to design a system of

coastal fortifications The coast, also known as the coastline or seashore, is defined as the area where land meets the ocean, or as a line that forms the boundary between the land and the coastline. The Earth has around of coastline. Coasts are important zones in n ...

to prevent the island from being attacked by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

or Barbary pirates. Camillani reviewed the existing fortifications, and in 1584 he published his findings in the report ''Descrittione delle marine di tutto il regno di Sicilia con le guardie necessarie da cavallo e da piedi che vi si tengono''. He went on to design

s, which were built at strategic sites along the coastline, in such a way that they were able to communicate with each other and warn cities of any approaching enemy. The towers had a square base with two floors, and were armed with artillery pieces on the roof. Camillani also designed fountains, statues and funerary monuments for various patrons and churches.

Works

Camillani designed the following buildings, among others:

Fortifications

* Fortezza del Tocco,

Acireale Acireale (; scn, Jaciriali, locally shortened to ''Jaci'' or ''Aci'') is a coastal city and ''comune'' in the north-east of the Metropolitan City of Catania, Sicily, southern Italy, at the foot of Mount Etna, on the coast facing the Ionian Sea. ...

* Torre di Manfria,

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; grc, Γέλα) is a city and (municipality) in the Autonomous Region of Sicily, Italy; in terms of area and population, it is the largest municipality on the southern coast of Sicily. Gela is part of the Province of Ca ...

*Towers of Vendicari,

Capo Passero Capo Passero or Cape Passaro ( scn, Capu Pàssaru; Greek: ; Latin: Pachynus or Pachynum) is a celebrated promontory of Sicily, forming the extreme southeastern point of the whole island, and one of the three promontories which were supposed to ha ...

and Punta delle Formiche in the

province of Syracuse The Province of Syracuse ( it, provincia di Siracusa; scn, pruvincia di Sarausa) was a province in the autonomous island region of Sicily in Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, a town established by Greek colonists arriving from Corinth ...

*Palazzo Baronale, Spadafora *Castello di Roccavaldina * Torre del Lauro,

Caronia Caronia ( Sicilian: ''Carunìa'', Greek: ( Ptol.) or ( Diod. et al.), Latin: ''Calacte'' or ''Cale Acte'') is a town and '' comune'' on the north coast of Sicily, in the province of Messina, about half way between Tyndaris (modern Tindari) ...

* Torre di Fuori, near Isola delle Femmine * Torre di San Giovanni, Torre di Roccazzo and Torre di Scopello in San Vito Lo Capo and

Castellammare del Golfo Castellammare del Golfo (; scn, Casteddammari; la, Emporium Segestanorum or ) is a town and municipality in the Trapani Province of Sicily. The name can be translated as "Sea Fortress on the Gulf", stemming from the medieval fortress in the h ...

*Reconstruction of the Castello di Milazzo,

Milazzo Milazzo ( Sicilian: ''Milazzu''; la, Mylae; ) is a town (''comune'') in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy; it is the largest commune in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a p ...

* Torre Salsa,

Siculiana Siculiana is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Agrigento, Sicily, southern Italy, west of the provincial capital Agrigento. Geography Siculiana’s long coast line is largely unspoiled; a protected Regional Nature Reserve has been e ...

* Torre di Carlo V,

Porto Empedocle Porto Empedocle ( scn, 'a Marina) is a town and '' comune'' in Italy on the coast of the Strait of Sicily, administratively part of the province of Agrigento. It was named after Empedocles, a Greek pre-Socratic philosopher and a citizen of th ...

* Torre di Monterosso,

Realmonte Realmonte ( Sicilian: ''Muntiriali'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Region of Agrigento in the Italian Provence Sicily, located about south of Palermo and about west of Agrigento. Realmonte borders the following municipalities: Agrig ...

* Torre Sant'Angelo,

Licata Licata (, ; grc, Φιντίας, whence la, Phintias or ''Plintis''), formerly also Alicata (), is a city and ''comune'' located on the south coast of Sicily, at the mouth of the Salso River (the ancient ''Himera''), about midway between Ag ...

File:Castello Milazzo 01.jpg, Castle of Milazzo File:Licata pano.jpg, Castle of Sant' Angelo

File:Torre di Manfria (Gela).jpg, Tower of Manfria (Gela) File:torre_monterosso_realmonte-ag.jpg, Tower of Monterosso near

File:Tre Fontane - torre.JPG, Tower of Tre Fontane (Campobello di Mazara)

Other works

*Façade of the Church of St. John of Malta in Messina *''Fontana della Flora'' in Villa Vittorio Emanuele, Caltagirone *He possibly worked on the Cathedral of

*two fonts for the Catania Cathedral *a ''Glauco'' for the Royal Palace of Palermo *sculptures for churches in Roccavaldina File:Church Messina Chiesa di San Giovanni di Malta 2.jpg, Church di San Giovanni di Malta (Messina) File:Castello Milazzo 02.jpg, Old cathedral Santo Stefano Protomartire (Milazzo) File:Cittadella Milazzo 42.JPG, Old cathedral Santo Stefano Protomartire, facade (Milazzo) File:Duomo antico di Milazzo.jpg, Old cathedral Santo Stefano Protomartire, interior (Milazzo) File:Cittadella Milazzo 20.JPG, Old cathedral Santo Stefano Protomartire, west side (Milazzo)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Camilliani, Camillo 16th-century births 1603 deaths Architects from Florence 16th-century Italian architects Italian military engineers Sculptors from Tuscany