The Fossati brothers, Gaspare (7 October 1809 – 5 September 1883) and Giuseppe (1822–1891), were

Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...

architects. They completed more than 50 projects in

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

(then 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 ...

) during the

Tanzimat The (, , lit. 'Reorganization') was a period of liberal reforms in the Ottoman Empire that began with the Edict of Gülhane of 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. Driven by reformist statesmen such as Mustafa Reşid Pash ...

era. They belonged to the

Morcote Morcote is a municipality in the Swiss canton of Ticino situated about 10 kilometres from Lugano in the district of Lugano on the shore of Lake Lugano. History Morcote is first mentioned historically in 926 as ''Murcau'', which comes from the ...

branch of the Fossati, a prominent Ticinese family with mentions in the historical record going back to the 14th century. Gaspare is most noted for his renovation of the

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia (; ; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque (; ), is a mosque and former Church (building), church serving as a major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The last of three church buildings to be successively ...

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

, which virtually saved it from destruction.

Biography

Born in

Ticino Ticino ( ), sometimes Tessin (), officially the Republic and Canton of Ticino or less formally the Canton of Ticino, is one of the Canton of Switzerland, 26 cantons forming the Switzerland, Swiss Confederation. It is composed of eight districts ...

, Gaspare and Giuseppe Fossati were born into a notable family of artisans from

in the

region. Their ancestors included architects, artists and engineers. The brothers finished primary and middle school in

Venice Venice ( ; ; , formerly ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 islands that are separated by expanses of open water and by canals; portions of the city are li ...

and studied architecture at the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera (), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di Brera, Milan's main public mu ...

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 ...

. During his period at the Academy, Gaspare won many prizes. Between 1829 and 1831, Gaspare produced many lithographs of Rome, and produced a catalogue for Leon XII. In around 1833, Gaspare began working for the architectural team of

Luigi Rusca Luigi Rusca (Алоизий Иванович Руска; 1762–1822) was a Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical architect from Ticino who worked in Russia, Ukraine and Estonia between 1783 and 1818. Life and career Rusca was apprenticed to ...

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, and in 1837, he married Rusca's daughter. (Rusca had died in 1822, but his nephew carried on with Rusca's projects in Saint Petersburg.) At the end of 1836, Gaspare was appointed to

(modern-day

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

), becoming the official court architect and agreed to draw up plans for the Russian Embassy in Constantinople. He recruited his brother-in-law, Alessandro Rusca, and his own 17 year old brother, Giuseppe Fossati. He set sail from Odessa, arriving in Constantinople on 20 March 1837. The Fossati brothers' time in Constantinople would mark the beginning of a very productiver period, and Gaspare would enjoy a distinguished career there. Between 1841 and 1843, the Fossati brothers built the brick Bab-ı Seraskeri Hospital ( Bekirağa Bölüğü) and

Liman İskelesi Karakolu Liman may refer to: Places *Liman, Azerbaijan, a city in Lankaran Rayon *Liman, Davachi, a village in Shabran Rayon, Azerbaijan * Liman, Israel, a moshav in northern Israel * Liman, Russia, name of several inhabited localities in Russia *Liman, No ...

Eminönü Eminönü, historically known as Pérama, is a predominantly commercial waterfront area of Istanbul within the Fatih district near the confluence of the Golden Horn with the southern entrance of the Bosphorus strait and the Sea of Marmara. It is l ...

for the Ottoman Administration. They were appointed to renovate Arzuodası at Babıali in 1844, and to build important buildings in Sultanahmet such as Dârülfünun (university) (1845–1846), Hazine-i Evrak, and Mekteb-i Sanayi (1846–1848). They also built the Church of SS Peter and Paul between 1841 and 1843.The Fossati brothers – Turkish Culture Portal
/ref> In 1847, Sultan Abdülmecid appointed them to renovate the

. They completed the restoration in two years, utilizing more than eight hundred workers. They were able to document a larger number of Byzantine mosaics whose precise location within the Hagia Sophia today have not been fully documented since many were either painted over or destroyed often without recording their original location. The drawings of the Hagia Sophia mosaics are kept in the Cantonal Archive of Ticino. Sultan Abdülmecid allowed the brothers to also document any mosaics they might discover during this process which were later archived in Swiss libraries.Hagia Sophia. Nova PBS program; originally aired 2/25/2015
/ref> The Telgrafhane-i Amire was built by Giuseppe Fossati in 1855. Upon the death of Reşit Paşa in 1858, the Fossati brothers built his mausoleum in the corner of the graveyard in the Bayezit complex. They also renovated Venedik Palace (today the house of the Italian Ambassador) in 1853, and the Dutch Embassy in

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

in 1854. They built the Spanish (1854) and Iranian (1856) embassies in Istanbul and the Ottoman University, adjacent to the Hagia Sophia. In addition, they built three Italian theaters. One of them was the

Naum Theatre The Naum Theatre, named after its owners Michel Naum and Joseph Naum of Levantine Catholic background, was a theatre and opera house on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu (formerly Pera) district of Istanbul, Turkey. It was opened in 1844 and remai ...

, which was built in

Galatasaray Galatasaray Spor Kulübü (, ''Galatasaray Sports Club''), more commonly referred to as simply Galatasaray and familiarly as Cimbom, is a Turkish sports club based on the European side of the city of Istanbul including basketball, wheelchair ...

in 1846, and destroyed by a fire in 1870. In 1858, the Fossati brothers returned to Switzerland. They built their homes in Morcote in the Turkish style. They are buried in Morcote.

Works in Constantinople

Russian Embassy This is a list of diplomatic missions of Russia. These missions are subordinate to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Russian Federation has one of the largest networks of embassies and consulates of any country. Russia has significant ...

(1837) * Dârülfünun (1846) * Hazine-i Evrak Building (1846) *

restoration (1847–49) *

Bekir Ağa Bölüğü Bekir is a Turkish given name for males which comes from Abu Bakr, the first Caliph of Islam. Given name * Bekir Fikri (1882–1914), Ottoman officer and revolutionary * Bekir Sıtkı Bircan (1886–1967), Turkish footballer * Bekir Bozdağ (bo ...

(1841–1843; now the Faculty of Political Sciences at

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

) *

Reşid Paşa Palace Reşid or Reşit is a Turkish name, derived from the Arabic ''Rashid'' (رشيد), and may refer to: * Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha (1800–1858), Ottoman statesman and chief architect of the Tanzimat reforms * Reşid Mehmed Pasha (1780–1839), Otto ...

(1847) *

Lamartine Alphonse Marie Louis de Prat de Lamartine (; 21 October 179028 February 1869) was a French author, poet, and statesman. Initially a moderate royalist, he became one of the leading critics of the July Monarchy of Louis-Philippe, aligning more w ...

(1850) *

Old Darülfünun building Old Darülfünun building () was a university building constructed next to Haghia Sophia in Istanbul, Ottoman Empire in the mid-19th century. It was a three-storey building in neo-Renaissance style that had a great visual impact on Istanbul's urb ...

(1854) * Hünkâr Dairesi (1855; now the Social Facility at Istanbul University) * Church of Santa Maria, Istanbul (1864–1866) * Ottoman Ministry of General Education (1865), now the

TGC Press Media Museum The TGC Press Media Museum (), aka Istanbul Press Media Museum, is a history and technology museum dedicated to mass communication in Turkey featuring exhibitions about journalism. It is located in the Çemberlitaş neighborhood of Fatih district ...

File:Russian Consulate, Istanbul.jpg, Consulate (former embassy) of Russia on Istiklal Avenue in

File:Netherlands Consulate, Istanbul.jpg, Consulate (former embassy) of the Netherlands on Istiklal Avenue in

File:TGCPressMediaMuseum.JPG,

Çemberlitaş, Fatih Çemberlitaş is a quarter in the Fatih district of Istanbul on the European side of the city. It takes its name from the Çemberlitaş Column, also known as the Column of Constantine, which stands beside the Çemberlitaş stop on the T1 tram line ...

(former Ottoman Ministry of General Education)

Biography

Works in Constantinople

See also

References

Further reading