Giovanni Battista di Quadro ( Polish ''Jan Baptysta Quadro'',

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through ...

''Joannes Baptista Quadro'') (died between 10 April 1590 and 16 January 1591) was an Italian renaissance architect, one of the most famous architects in Central Europe in his era.

Biography

He was born

Ponte Tresa Ponte Tresa ( Lombard: ''Punt da Tresa'') is a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 18 April 2021 the municipalities of Croglio, Monteggio, Ponte Tresa and Sessa merged to form Tresa. History ...

Cadro Cadro is quarter of the city of Lugano and a former municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. On 14 April 2013 the former municipalities of Bogno, Cadro, Carona, Certara, Cimadera, Valcolla and Sonvico merged ...

, near

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label= Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Lugano has a populat ...

(today

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

). Until 1550, he probably worked in

Saxony Saxony (german: Sachsen ; Upper Saxon German, Upper Saxon: ''Saggsn''; hsb, Sakska), officially the Free State of Saxony (german: Freistaat Sachsen, links=no ; Upper Saxon: ''Freischdaad Saggsn''; hsb, Swobodny stat Sakska, links=no), is a ...

and

Silesia Silesia (, also , ) is a historical region of Central Europe that lies mostly within Poland, with small parts in the Czech Silesia, Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is approximately , and the population is estimated at around 8,000,000. S ...

, but on 13 March 1550, he signed a contract with the city council of

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

for rebuilding the

town hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

. In 1551, with the agreement of the council, he went to

Płock Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to th ...

as a consultant on the renovation of the cathedral. In the same year, his name was mentioned in the court books of Poznań because of links between him and the

Bishop of Poznań A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Benedykt Izdebski relating to building the bishop's palace in

Krobia Krobia (german: Kröben) is a town situated in the western part of Poland, in Greater Poland Voivodeship. Center of small folklore region - Biskupizna. History Within the Kingdom of Poland, Krobia was a private church town, administratively l ...

. From 1552 to 1562, di Quadro was the City Architect of Poznań, but the City Council also paid him in 1563, 1566, 1567, and 1570 for minor works. During these years, he worked for the citizens of Poznań and the clergy and nobles of

Greater Poland Greater Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska (; german: Großpolen, sv, Storpolen, la, Polonia Maior), is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief and largest city is Poznań followed by Kalisz, the oldest cit ...

. From 1568 to 1572, he worked in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officiall ...

, rebuilding today's Royal Castle. His many well-paid jobs made him wealthy. However, after he retired in 1573, he died as an indebted person in Poznań. During the years 1550-1552, his brothers Antoni, Gabriel, and Kilian di Quadro also worked in Poznań.

Works

Existing

* Poznań City Hall (reinessance rebuild in 1550 -1560) *tomb of Bishop Adam Konarski in

Poznań cathedral The Archcathedral Basilica of St. Peter and St. Paul in Poznań is one of the oldest churches in Poland and the oldest Polish cathedral, dating from the 10th century. It stands on the island of Ostrów Tumski north-east of the city centre. His ...

*Building of Scale in Poznań (renaissance rebuild in 1563 and renovation in 1573. In 1890 Scale was demolished, but after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

it was rebuilt on di Quadro's original plans.)

Disappeared

*private houses in Poznań **Stary Rynek 84 (after 1554) **Ślusarska Str. (1559) **Stary Rynek 39 (1561) **Stary Rynek 81 (1563) **Stary Rynek 52 (before 1579) **Plac Kolegiacki (since 1568, not finished. Renovated, probably based on his project in years 1958-1960) *

Royal Castle in Warsaw The Royal Castle in Warsaw ( pl, Zamek Królewski w Warszawie) is a state museum and a national historical monument, which formerly served as the official royal residence of several Polish monarchs. The personal offices of the king and the admi ...

(1568–1572) (reproductions of his original work is visible) *House of priests of St. Stanislaus in Poznań (Za Bramką Str., 1571 - 1574) *minor works in Poznań cathedral

Probable

Works (existing and no longer existing) attributable to him, on analysis of style and unverified documents): *Chapel of Kościeleccy family in Kościelec near

Inowrocław Inowrocław (; german: Hohensalza; before 1904: Inowrazlaw; archaic: Jungleslau) is a city in central Poland with a total population of 70,713 in December 2021. It is situated in the Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship since 1999, previously in the B ...

(about 1559) *private house on Wrocławska Str. 11 in

*gate and tower of bridge in Łacina (today Poznań) (1560) *renovation of tower of not existing Poznań Collegiate church *Jesuits College in Poznań (1572) *Shearing hall w Poznaniu *Cloth hall in Poznań *Trade hall w Poznaniu (1563)

References

*Common work, ''Wielkopolski Słownik Biograficzny'', PWN, Warsaw-Poznań 1983, {{DEFAULTSORT:Quadro, Giovanni Battista Di 1590s deaths 16th-century Italian architects Italian Renaissance architects Italy–Poland relations Italian emigrants to Poland Architects from Ticino Year of birth unknown