Filippo Terzi (1520–1597) was an Italian military and civil architect and engineer, born in

Bologna Bologna ( , , ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy. It is the List of cities in Italy, seventh most populous city in Italy, with about 400,000 inhabitants and 150 different nationalities. Its M ...

, who went to

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

in 1577 and the following year joined the disastrous military expedition to

Morocco Morocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It has coastlines on the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to Algeria–Morocc ...

where he was taken prisoner at the

Battle of Alcácer Quibir The Battle of Alcácer Quibir (also known as "Battle of Three Kings" () or "Battle of Wadi al-Makhazin" () in Morocco) was fought in northern Morocco, near the town of Ksar-el-Kebir (variant spellings: ''Ksar El Kebir'', ''Alcácer-Quivir'', ...

. After this, his release was negotiated and he returned to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

, where he spent the remainder of his career, dying at

Setúbal Setúbal ( , , ; ), officially the City of Setúbal (), is a city and a municipality in Portugal. The population of the entire municipality in 2014 was 118,166, occupying an area of . The city itself had 89,303 inhabitants in 2001. It lies withi ...

. In 1582

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

, recently declared king also of Portugal, visited Setúbal, where Terzi was recommended to him on the occasion of a new fortification needed to reinforce the security of that port city. Having achieved the work successfully, Terzi was named master of work at the

Convento de Cristo The Convent of Christ () is a former Catholic convent in Tomar, Portugal. Originally a 12th-century Knights Templar, Templar Fortification, stronghold, when the order was dissolved in the 14th century the Portuguese branch was turned into the Or ...

in Tomar, in 1584. In 1590, he was named '' Mestre das Obras de el-Rei'', "Master of the King's works", succeeding the post that had been occupied by António Rodrigues. Terzi was also charged with the instruction of a new generation of young architects in the Royal Works. He was responsible for numerous projects, notably at

Coimbra Coimbra (, also , , or ), officially the City of Coimbra (), is a city and a concelho, municipality in Portugal. The population of the municipality at the 2021 census was 140,796, in an area of . The fourth-largest agglomerated urban area in Po ...

and Lisbon, including the aqueduct that led from São Sebastião to Coimbra.

Selected works

Tomar Tomar (), also known in English as Thomar (the ancient name of Tomar), is a Portugal, Portuguese city and a municipality in the historical Ribatejo Portuguese Provinces of Portugal, province, and in Santarém District, Santarém district. The to ...

: cloister *church of São Vincente de Fora, Lisbon (1582–1605) * Fort of Pessegueiro (1588–90), a coastal fortress in which the island of Pessegueiro was linked to the mainland * Fort of Santiago da Barra in

Monserrate Monserrate (named after Catalan language, Catalan homonym mountain ''Montserrat (mountain), Montserrat'') is a mountain over high that overlooks the city center of Bogotá, the capital city of Colombia. It rises to above the sea level, where th ...

(

Viana do Castelo Viana do Castelo () is a concelho, municipality and seat of the district of Viana do Castelo District, Viana do Castelo in the Norte Region, Portugal, Norte Region of Portugal. The population in 2021 was 85,778, in an area of . The urbanized are ...

) * Fort of São Filipe de Setúbal (1597) was in progress when he died. *

Igreja de São Roque (Lisbon) The Igreja de São Roque (; Church of Saint Roch) is a Catholic church in Lisbon, Portugal. It was the earliest Jesuit church in the Portuguese world, and one of the first Jesuit churches anywhere. The edifice served as the Society's home church ...

(Church of São Roque); completed the construction, including the roof

Notes

1520 births 1597 deaths 16th-century Italian architects Portuguese architects Architects from Bologna Engineers from Bologna {{Italy-architect-stub Portuguese people of Italian descent