Camillo Camilliani (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

1574–1603) was an

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

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

watchtower A watchtower or guardtower (also spelt watch tower, guard tower) is a type of military/paramilitary or policiary tower used for guarding an area. Sometimes fortified, and armed with heavy weaponry, especially historically, the structures are ...

s and other fortifications around the coasts of

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

Life

Camillani was born in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

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 Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...

. 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 an Italian aristocrat who served as Viceroy of Sicily in the service of the Spanish Crown, general of ...

invited him to Sicily to design a system of coastal fortifications to prevent the island from being attacked by the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

Barbary pirates The Barbary corsairs, Barbary pirates, Ottoman corsairs, or naval mujahideen (in Muslim sources) were mainly Muslim corsairs and privateers who operated from the largely independent Barbary states. This area was known in Europe as the Barba ...

. 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 (; , 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. It is home to ...

* Torre di Manfria,

Gela Gela (Sicilian and ; ) is a city and (municipality) in the regional autonomy, 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 o ...

*Towers of Vendicari, Capo Passero and Punta delle Formiche in the

province of Syracuse The province of Syracuse (; ) was a Provinces of Italy, province in the autonomous island region of Sicily, Italy. Its capital was the city of Syracuse, Sicily, Syracuse, a town established by Greeks, Greek colonists arriving from Corinth in the ...

*Palazzo Baronale, Spadafora *Castello di Roccavaldina * Torre del Lauro, Caronia * 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 (; ; 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 harbor. The nearby body of water conversely tak ...

*Reconstruction of the Castello di Milazzo,

Milazzo Milazzo (; ; ) is a municipality () in the Metropolitan City of Messina, Sicily, southern Italy. It is the largest municipality in the Metropolitan City after Messina and Barcellona Pozzo di Gotto. The town has a population of around 31,500 inh ...

* Torre Salsa, Siculiana * Torre di Carlo V, Porto Empedocle * Torre di Monterosso, Realmonte * Torre Sant'Angelo,

Licata Licata (, ; , whence 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 Agrigento and Gela. It is a major se ...

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 Realmonte 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 Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

*''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 Grand Duchy of Tuscany people Kingdom of Sicily people Architects from Florence 16th-century Italian architects Italian military engineers Sculptors from Tuscany