Gioacchino Toesca e Ricci (1745–1799; known as Joaquín Toesca in the

Spanish Empire The Spanish Empire ( es, link=no, Imperio español), also known as the Hispanic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Hispánica) or the Catholic Monarchy ( es, link=no, Monarquía Católica) was a colonial empire governed by Spain and its prede ...

) 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 An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who worked at the service of the Spanish Empire, mainly in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

. He was mainly a Neoclassical architect although he also built Baroque buildings.

Biography

Gioacchino Toesca was born in 1745 in

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 ...

. He studied architecture as a student of

Francesco Sabatini Francesco Sabatini (1721 – 19 February 1797), also known as Francisco Sabatini, was an Italian architect of the 18th century who worked in Spain. Biography Born in Palermo, he studied architecture in Rome. His first contacts with the Spa ...

and at the age of 15, he moved to Madrid and later completed his studies in mathematics in Barcelona.

Chilean architecture

Elevacion de la Real Casa de Moneda en Santiago de Chile, por Toesca

In 1780 he traveled to South America, to Santiago in the colonial

Captaincy General of Chile The Captaincy General of Chile (''Capitanía General de Chile'' ) or Governorate of Chile (known colloquially and unofficially as the Kingdom of Chile), was a territory of the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1817 that was, for most of its existenc ...

at the request of the Royal Governor

Agustín de Jáuregui Agustín de Jáuregui y Aldecoa (May 17, 1708/1711 – April 29, 1784) was a Spanish politician and soldier who served as governor of Chile (1772–80) and viceroy of Peru (1780–84). Early life Jáuregui was born in Lecároz, the son of Matías ...

and the Archbishop Santiago Manuel de Alday y Aspée, who engaged him to design the ''Catedral de Santiago de Chile'' (present day Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral). In addition to this project he was also occupied in developing the plans for the ''

Palacio de la Moneda Palacio de La Moneda (, ''Palace of the Mint''), or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secre ...

'' to house the royal

mint MiNT is Now TOS (MiNT) is a free software alternative operating system kernel for the Atari ST system and its successors. It is a multi-tasking alternative to TOS and MagiC. Together with the free system components fVDI device drivers, XaA ...

, which later became Chile's presidential palace. Toesca died in 1799 and did not live to see his two major projects, the Cathedral and the Palacio, completed. However, he did finish a number of other smaller works, including the (city hall) of the Santiago ''Cabildo'', the San Juan de Dios Hospital, and the ( levees) which would prove crucial in protecting the city from the floods of the

Mapocho River The River Mapocho ( es, Río Mapocho) ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapo ...

. He also worked on the construction of the Santo Domingo Church, Santiago. His designs were generally in the

neoclassical style Neoclassical architecture is an architectural style produced by the Neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century in Italy and France. It became one of the most prominent architectural styles in the Western world. The prevailing sty ...

of the period. His creative influence on Santiago—directly and through his many students—is notable.

References

External links

Memoria.chilena: El arquitecto Joaquín Toesca (1752–1799) – biography
(''in Spanish'')

– (''in Spanish'') {{DEFAULTSORT:Toesca, Joaquin Architects from Rome Neoclassical architects People of the Spanish colonial Americas 1745 births 1799 deaths 18th-century Chilean people Italian neoclassical architects Italian emigrants to Chile