Galeazzo Alessi (1512 – 30 December 1572) was an Italian architect from

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

, known throughout Europe for his distinctive style based on his enthusiasm for ancient architecture. He studied drawing for civil and military architecture under the direction of

Giovanni Battista Caporali Giovanni Battista Caporali (c. 1476–1560) was an Italian painter of the Renaissance. He was also called Bitte, a diminutive of his Christian name and by Vasari, ''Benedetto'', was the son of Bartolommeo Caporali, and was born at Perugia. He wa ...

. For a number of years he lived in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

. He was involved in the lay-out of the streets and the restoration of the city walls, as well as being responsible for many of its impressive palazzi, now a part of the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

. His work can be found in many other Italian cities, including in

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Bologna Bologna (, , ; egl, label= Emilian, Bulåggna ; lat, Bononia) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in Northern Italy. It is the seventh most populous city in Italy with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different na ...

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adm ...

and

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

, where he designed the facade of

Santa Maria presso San Celso Santa Maria dei Miracoli presso San Celso is a church and a sanctuary in Milan, Lombardy, northern Italy. History and overview The construction was begun by Gian Giacomo Dolcebuono and Giovanni Battagio in 1493, to house a miraculous icon of the ...

. With

Vignola Vignola (Emilian language#Dialects, Modenese: ; Bolognese dialect, Bolognese: ) is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Modena (Emilia-Romagna), Italy. Its economy is based on agriculture, especially fruit farming, but there are also mechani ...

, he designed the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Assisi, the seventh largest Christian church at the time. Elsewhere in Europe, he designed churches and palaces in France, Germany and

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

. He produced designs for

El Escorial El Escorial, or the Royal Site of San Lorenzo de El Escorial ( es, Monasterio y Sitio de El Escorial en Madrid), or Monasterio del Escorial (), is a historical residence of the King of Spain located in the town of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, u ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, but age and health prevented him from carrying them out.

Selected works

Perugia Perugia (, , ; lat, Perusia) is the capital city of Umbria in central Italy, crossed by the River Tiber, and of the province of Perugia. The city is located about north of Rome and southeast of Florence. It covers a high hilltop and part ...

* Rocca Paolina, remodelling * Loggia at the Oratorio di S. Angelo della Pace * S. Maria del Popolo (Camera di Commercio) * Loggia for the

Palazzo dei Priori The Palazzo dei Priori or comunale is one of the best examples in Italy of a public palace from the communal era (11th century). It is located in the central Piazza IV Novembre in Perugia, Umbria. It extends along Corso Vannucci up to Via Boncam ...

, remodelling * Convent of Santa Giuliana (S. Caterina) * Portale of the Villa del Leone * Doorway in the southern flank of the

Duomo ''Duomo'' (, ) is an Italian term for a church with the features of, or having been built to serve as, a cathedral, whether or not it currently plays this role. Monza Cathedral, for example, has never been a diocesan seat and is by definition n ...

* Works for San Pietro

Assisi Assisi (, also , ; from la, Asisium) is a town and '' comune'' of Italy in the Province of Perugia in the Umbria region, on the western flank of Monte Subasio. It is generally regarded as the birthplace of the Latin poet Propertius, born arou ...

* Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli * Tabernacle of San Francesco
original design in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
* Works in the Cathedral of San Rufino

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

* Villa Giustiniani-Cambiaso,

Albaro Albaro is an affluent residential neighbourhood of the Italian city of Genoa, located east of the city centre. It was formerly an independent comune, named San Francesco d'Albaro, included in the city of Genoa in 1873. At present, together with ...

* Basilica of S. Maria Assunta, Carignano * Porta del Molo (Porta Siberia), inserted in the city walls * Cupola of St. Lawrence Cathedral *

Villa delle Peschiere Villa Pallavicino delle Peschiere is a 16th-century villa in Genoa, Northwestern Italy, built in 1560 for the nobleman Tobia Pallavicino. It is situated in via San Bartolomeo degli Armeni 25, in the quarter of Castelletto, in an area that, at the ...

* Villa Grimaldi-Sauli in Bisagno * Proposals for the palazzi in the Strada Nuova

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city ...

* Palazzo Marino (Municipio di Milano), for the Genoese Tommaso Marino. * San Barnaba * Auditorium of the Scuole Canobiane *

* San Raffaele * Various projects in the Duomo di Milano, including the monument of the Arcimboldi.

Sacro Monte di Varallo Giovanni d' Enrico, ''Ecce Homo ''(detail of the crowd calling for crucifixion), 1608-9. The Sacred Mountain of Varallo ( it, Sacro Monte di Varallo) is a ''Sacro Monte'' ("sacred mountain", a type of mountainside Christian devotional complex ...
(
Vercelli Vercelli (; pms, Vërsèj ), is a city and ''comune'' of 46,552 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) in the Province of Vercelli, Piedmont, northern Italy. One of the oldest urban sites in northern Italy, it was founded, according to most historians, ...
)

* City plan

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

*Unexecuted designs for the

Church of the Gesù , image = Church of the Gesù, Rome.jpg , imagesize = , caption = Giacomo della Porta's façade, precursor of Baroque , mapframe = yes , mapframe-caption = Click on the map for a full ...

References

*Rossi, ''Di Galeazzo Alessi memorie'' (Perugia, 1873) * Emmina De Negri, ''Galeazzo Alessi : architetto a Genova'', (Quaderni dell'Istituto di storia dell'arte dell'Università di Genova, number 1, (Genoa) 1957). * ''Galeazzo Alessi e l'architettura del Cinquecento'', atti del convegno internazionale di studi : Genoa, 16–20 April 1974, (Genoa 1975) * R. L. Torrijos, "Un testamento dimenticato di Galeazzo Alessi", in ''Architettura, storia e documenti'', 1 (1985:97-100) *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Alessi, Galeazzo 1512 births 1572 deaths 16th-century Italian architects People from Perugia