Francesco Laparelli da Cortona (5 April 1521 – 20 October 1570) was an Italian architect. He was an assistant of

Michelangelo Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was ins ...

, and later was sent by the Pope to supervise the construction of Valletta in Malta.

Early career

Laparelli was born in

Cortona Cortona (, ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Arezzo, in Tuscany, Italy. It is the main cultural and artistic centre of the Val di Chiana after Arezzo. Toponymy Cortona is derived from Latin Cortōna, and from Etruscan 𐌂𐌖� ...

on 5 April 1521, a member of one of the richest and most illustrious families of Cortona. As a young man, he practiced in the exercise of arms, studied mathematics and architecture along the models defined by Euclid and Vitruvius, and practiced drawing. He was strongly influenced by meeting and working with

Gabrio Serbelloni Gabriele Serbelloni, better known as Gabrio Serbelloni (also Gabriel Cerbellón in Spanish), (1509 – January 1580) was an Italian condottiero and general. A noble by birth (his family was among the noblest in Milan), he achieved an even hi ...

, who was sent to Cortona by

Cosimo I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany Cosimo I de' Medici (12 June 1519 – 21 April 1574) was the second Duke of Florence from 1537 until 1569, when he became the first Grand Duke of Tuscany, a title he held until his death. Life Rise to power Cosimo was born in Florence on 1 ...

to provide for the city's defenses during the conflict between

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

and

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

. In 1560 Francis Laparelli was called to Rome by

Pope Pius IV Pope Pius IV ( it, Pio IV; 31 March 1499 – 9 December 1565), born Giovanni Angelo Medici, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 December 1559 to his death in December 1565. Born in Milan, his family considered ...

, at the request of his cousin Serbelloni, with the task of restoring the fortifications of

Civitavecchia Civitavecchia (; meaning "ancient town") is a city and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Rome in the central Italian region of Lazio. A sea port on the Tyrrhenian Sea, it is located west-north-west of Rome. The harbour is formed by two pier ...

. In the same year he designed fortifications to defend the new mouth of the Tiber, and in 1561 directed the defense works at

Vatican Hill Vatican Hill (; la, Mons Vaticanus; it, Colle Vaticano) is a hill located across the Tiber river from the traditional seven hills of Rome, that also gave the name of Vatican City. It is the location of St. Peter's Basilica. Etymology The a ...

. In 1565 he completed the great bastioned pentagon of the

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

, made progress on the defenses of the Vatican, collaborated with

Michelangelo Buonarroti Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was in ...

on work on the great dome of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

and wrote on the stability of the dome.

Malta

Statue of Francesco Laparelli and Girolamo Cassar

The four-month

Great Siege of Malta The Great Siege of Malta ( Maltese: ''L-Assedju l-Kbir'') occurred in 1565 when the Ottoman Empire attempted to conquer the island of Malta, then held by the Knights Hospitaller. The siege lasted nearly four months, from 18 May to 13 September ...

was lifted in September 1565, but the island was ruined. The Grand Master

Jean Parisot de la Valette Fra' Jean "Parisot" de la Valette (4 February 1495 – 21 August 1568) was a French nobleman and 49th Grand Master of the Order of Malta, from 21 August 1557 to his death in 1568. As a Knight Hospitaller, joining the order in the ''Langue de ...

determined to rebuild, choosing the high ground of Mount Sciberras as the site for the new fortress. Francesco Laparelli was commissioned to undertake construction. He was sent to Malta by

Pope Pius V Pope Pius V ( it, Pio V; 17 January 1504 – 1 May 1572), born Antonio Ghislieri (from 1518 called Michele Ghislieri, O.P.), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1566 to his death in May 1572. He is v ...

, who also provided money for the reconstruction. Laparelli arrived on the island in December 1565 and gave his first report to the knights on 3 January 1566. He said that the fortications at Birgu, Senglea and St. Elmo had suffered so badly that four thousand laborers working 24 hours a day would be needed to make basic repairs. Instead, he recommended the quicker and cheaper approach of building a new fortification on Mount Sciberras. In a report of 13 January 1566 Laparelli made a more forceful case for the new city, saying that 12,000 foot and 200 horse would be needed to hold the island without it, but only 5,000 foot if it were built. The knights sent messages to the European courts in which threatened to leave Malta if they were not helped by money and troops. On 14 March 1566, after receiving pledges from Spain and others, they decided to proceed. Laparelli laid out the town plan based on a grid pattern to allow sea breezes to flow through the city more easily in the summer, and designed the drainage system. He specified that ramparts were to surround the city, and

Fort Saint Elmo Fort Saint Elmo ( mt, Forti Sant'Iermu) is a star fort in Valletta, Malta. It stands on the seaward shore of the Sciberras Peninsula that divides Marsamxett Harbour from Grand Harbour, and commands the entrances to both harbours along with Fort ...

was to be rebuilt at the tip of the Scebarras peninsula. The foundation stone of the new city of

Valletta Valletta (, mt, il-Belt Valletta, ) is an administrative unit and capital of Malta. Located on the main island, between Marsamxett Harbour to the west and the Grand Harbour to the east, its population within administrative limits in 2014 ...

was laid in March 1566.

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

sent

Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino Giovan Giacomo Paleari Fratino (1520–1586), known as ''El Fratin'' or ''Il Fratino'' ("The Little Friar"), was a military engineer who served the Spanish Emperor Charles V, and then his son Philip II of Spain. He is known for having designed the ...

to check the design of the fortifications.

Giacomo Bosio Giacomo Bosio (1544–1627) was a brother of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem and the historian of this order. He was the uncle of the Maltese antiquary Antonio Bosio. Biography Giacomo Bosio was born in 1544 in Chivasso, in the present ...

has recorded the discourse between el Fratino and Laparelli that took place early in April 1566. The final proposal, published on 18 June 1566, was for a fortified city that extended up the peninsula to Fort Saint Elmo, with four bastions and two cavaliers guarding the landward side. In 1567 the plan was refined to cover making the landward ditch deeper and constructing cisterns, storerooms, magazines and other essential buildings. Laparelli left Malta in 1569 to help in the naval war of the papacy against the Turks. Construction of the main buildings had not yet begun. Before he was able to return, he died in 1570 at the age of 49 in Crete from the plague. The building of Valletta was continued by his Maltese assistant, Girolamo Cassar.

Major works

*Cortona : Fortezza Medicea o del Girifalco (with

) (1556) *Cortona : bell tower of the Cathedral (1566) *Valletta, Malta : fortifications of the city (1566)

Legacy

Monument to Francesco Laparelli and his collaborator Girolamo Cassar ha been unveiled in Vallete in 2016.Inaugurated Monument To Francesco Laparelli And Gerolamo Cassar 2016
Malta Map Society

References

Citations

Sources

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