Carlo Barabino
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Carlo Barabino (February 11, 1768 – September 3, 1835) was a prominent
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 of the Neoclassic period, active mainly in his native Genoa.


Biography


Early life and education

Carlo Barabino was born in Genoa on February 11, 1768. He first studied in Genoa, from 1785, at the Accademia Ligustica and then in Rome, from 1788, under Giuseppe Barberi; he received prizes in the competitions of the
Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...
(1789) and the Accademia Parmense (1792). His drawings (Genoa,
Palazzo Rosso The Palazzo Brignole Sale or Palazzo Rosso is a house museum located in Via Garibaldi, in the historical center of Genoa, in Northwestern Italy. The palace is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site Genoa: Le Strade Nuove and the system of the P ...
) show that he was strongly influenced on the one hand by
Giovanni Battista Piranesi Giovanni Battista (or Giambattista) Piranesi (; also known as simply Piranesi; 4 October 1720 – 9 November 1778) was an Italian classical archaeologist, architect, and artist, famous for his etchings of Rome and of fictitious and atmospheric " ...
and the architecture of antiquity, and on the other by the ''
architecture parlante ''Architecture parlante'' ( French: ) is architecture that explains its own function or identity. The phrase was originally associated with Claude Nicolas Ledoux, and was extended to other Paris-trained architects of the Revolutionary period ...
'' of the
French Enlightenment French may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France ** French people, a nation and ethnic group ** French cuisine, cooking traditions and practices Arts and media * The French (band) ...
and in particular the more decorative tendencies of
Charles de Wailly Charles de Wailly () (9 November 1730 – 2 November 1798) was a French architect and urbanist, and furniture designer, one of the principals in the Neoclassical revival of the Antique. His major work was the Théâtre de l'Odéon for the Coméd ...
. Barabino was able to use these disparate influences in the period of renewed civic confidence in Genoa after the departure of the French in 1815 and the subsequent cession of the city to the
House of Savoy The House of Savoy (, ) is a royal house (formally a dynasty) of Franco-Italian origin that was established in 1003 in the historical region of Savoy, which was originally part of the Kingdom of Burgundy and now lies mostly within southeastern F ...
.


Early career

Although Barabino returned to Genoa in 1793, the first part of his career was occupied largely with competitions and imaginary projects: the competition (1795) for the Molo di Genova, Genoa, a monument to
Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
reminiscent of the work of
Étienne-Louis Boullée Étienne-Louis Boullée (; 12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects. Life Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain ...
; a
triumphal arch A triumphal arch is a free-standing monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road, and usually standing alone, unconnected to other buildings. In its simplest form, a triumphal ...
(1805) in Genoa for the reception of
Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...
; and a project (1807) for
La Madeleine, Paris The Church of Sainte-Marie-Madeleine (, ), or less formally, La Madeleine (), is a Catholic parish church on Place de la Madeleine in the 8th arrondissement of Paris. It was planned by Louis XV as the focal point of the new Rue Royal, leading t ...
, which had a severe temple front surmounted by a structure based on the
Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus (; ) was a tomb built between 353 and 351 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an Anatolian from Caria and a satrap in the Achaemenid Persian Empire, and his sister-wi ...
. In 1801 he was invited to
Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
by the
Cisalpine Republic The Cisalpine Republic (; ) was a sister republic or a client state of France in Northern Italy that existed from 1797 to 1799, with a second version until 1802. Creation After the Battle of Lodi in May 1796, Napoleon Bonaparte organized two ...
to be a judge, together with
Giacomo Albertolli Giacomo Albertolli (1761 – 6 June 1805) was a Swiss-born architect who was active in Italy during the Neoclassical period. He was born in Bedano in the province of Ticino. He was the nephew of Giocondo Albertolli, a professor of architect ...
and Giuseppe Maria Soli (1747–1823), in the competition for the Foro Bonaparte, a new centre to be developed around the old castle. Barabino himself suggested adapting the castle as a barracks, and he designed (1801) a severe Corinthian portico to be applied to the front of the refurbished ramparts. Among the works of Barabino executed during this period were the façade of the Casa Ravara, Pontedecimo; the Casa Massuccone (1796), Genoa, in which the presence of the orders was so reduced as to make the building almost astylar; the decoration of the ''
piano nobile ( Italian for "noble floor" or "noble level", also sometimes referred to by the corresponding French term, ) is the architectural term for the principal floor of a '' palazzo''. This floor contains the main reception and bedrooms of the house ...
'' of the Palazzo Negrone (now Cavi), Piazza Fontane Marose, Genoa, in a late 18th-century French manner; and the altar (1796; removed 1904 to the Piazza Alimonda) of the church of the Rimedio, Via Giulia, Genoa. In 1795 he became Accademico di Merito of the Accademia Ligustica and assistant to the architect of the Comune, Claudio Storace, succeeding him in 1797, but he was replaced by Gaetano Cantoni and Andrea Emmanuele Tagliafichi (1729–1811) the following year. During this period Barabino designed the Lavatorio (1797), Via Madre de Dio (subsequently re-erected in the Giardini Baltimora), Genoa. In 1802 he became director of the School of Architecture of the Accademia Ligustica.


Mature work

It was only after 1818 that Barabino started his principal activities, when he was appointed architect of the city of Genoa by the Corpo Decurionale. His major works date from 1825: the establishment of the Piazza de Ferrari with the
Teatro Carlo Felice The Teatro Carlo Felice is the principal opera house of Genoa, Italy, used for performances of opera, ballet, orchestral music, and recitals. It is located on the side of Piazza De Ferrari. History The hall is named for King Carlo Felice, a ...
(1826–7), the Palazzo dell’Accademia Ligustica e Biblioteca (1826–7), and a series of urban improvements. Following its regularization, the Piazza de Ferrari, on which Barabino had started work during the French occupation, became after 1815 the cultural centre of Genoa. The new Palazzo dell’Accademia was an austere three-storey building with an arcaded ground floor, the interior of which was dominated by a magnificent staircase cleverly designed to accommodate the steep site. The Teatro Carlo Felice (1826–7) was resolutely Neoclassical, with a strongly horizontally rusticated main block contrasting with a prominent portico; an arcade continued that of the adjacent Palazzo dell’Accademia. Curiously, the portico, consisting of a Greek
Doric order The Doric order is one of the three orders of ancient Greek and later Roman architecture; the other two canonical orders were the Ionic and the Corinthian. The Doric is most easily recognized by the simple circular capitals at the top of t ...
surmounted by an attic and pyramidal roof with a giant statue of Harmony by
Giuseppe Gaggini ''The subject of this article is different to sculptor Giuseppe Gagini family, Gagini of Palermo, Sicily, who died in 1610'' Giuseppe Gaggini (Genoa, April 25, 1791 – May 1, 1867) was an Italian sculptor. Biography He gained a stipend from th ...
, was not the main entrance, which was on the adjacent Via Carlo Felice, but was designed to terminate visually the angle of the Piazza de Ferrari formed by the Palazzo dell’Accademia. This peculiarity arose due to the restricted depth of the site, which required the main axis of salon, foyer, and auditoriumof conventional horseshoe shapeto be parallel to the main façade. Barabino’s urban improvements include the opening of the Via Carlo Felice (1825–8; now Via 25 Aprile), cut through the medieval fabric of the city to link the Piazza de Ferrari with the Piazza Fontane Marose; the regularization of the Via Giulia (now Via 20 Settembre); and several residential areas outside the medieval city. He proposed broad streetsthe Via Assarotti, Via Caffaro and Via Corsica, executed later (1856)lined with palaces and with dignified apartment blocks in the Parisian manner, and the Piazza Colombo and the gardens of L’Acquasola (1821–37). He also made drawings for improvements to the seafront. Barabino undertook several ecclesiastical works in Genoa, including the addition of a pilastered temple front (1819–21) to
San Siro San Siro is a football stadium in the San Siro district of Milan, Italy. It has a seating capacity of 75,817, making it the largest stadium in Italy and one of the largest stadiums in Europe. It is the home stadium of the city's principal ...
, and the design of the oratory of the Rosario (1824–6) in the Salita San Francesco di Paola, a small version of the Pantheon in Rome. He added a new façade (1834), incorporating a severe Greek temple front, to the unfinished
Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...
church of the Basilica della Santissima Annunziata del Vastato. Barabino also established the plan for the
Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno The Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno is an extensive monumental cemetery located on a hillside in the district of Staglieno of Genoa, Italy, famous for its monumental sculpture. Covering an area of more than a square kilometre, it is one of the ...
in Genoa. The original project was approved in 1835. However, Barabino died the same year as a result of the
cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...
epidemic that struck the city and the project passed to his assistant and pupil Giovanni Battista Resasco (1798–1871).


References


Bibliography

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barabino, Carl Architects from Genoa 19th-century Italian architects 1768 births 1835 deaths Italian neoclassical architects