Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, 1614) was a late-
Mannerist
Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...
architect, as well as brother of
Domenico Fontana
Domenico Fontana (154328 June 1607) was an Italian"Domenico Fontana." ''
Carlo Maderno
Carlo Maderno or Maderna (1556 – 31 January 1629) was an Italian architect, born in today's Ticino, Switzerland, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture. His façades of Santa Susanna, St. Peter's Basilica, and Sant ...
.
Life
Fontana began his career as an architect as an assistant to
Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta (1533–1602) was an Italian architect and sculptor. Most likely born in Genoa or Porlezza, Italy, his work was inspired by famous Renaissance artists such as Michelangelo and Giacomo Barozzi da Vignola. He started in his car ...
, implementing designs by
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (6March 147518February 1564), known mononymously as Michelangelo, was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was inspir ...
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V (; 13 December 1521 – 27 August 1590), born Felice Piergentile, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 April 1585 to his death, in August 1590. As a youth, he joined the Franciscan order, where h ...
, who two years later completely rebuilt the church of San Girolamo dei Croati for the Croatian-speaking community in Rome, to designs by Fontana and
Martino Longhi the Elder
Martino Longhi the Elder (1534–1591) was an Italian architect, the father of Onorio Longhi and the grandfather of Martino Longhi the Younger. He is also known as ''Martino Lunghi''.
He was born in Viggiù into a family of architects, and initial ...
. In 1596 he undertook some engineering projects, such as the draining of the
Rieti Valley
The Rieti Valley or Rieti Plain ( or ''Conca Reatina'') is a small plain in central Italy, where lies the city of Rieti, Lazio. It is also known as Sacred Valley and Holy Valley () since saint Francis of Assisi lived here for many years and erec ...
which was commissioned by
pope Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605.
Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...
.
He built one of the most important rural villas of the
Roman Campagna
The Roman Campagna () is a low-lying area surrounding Rome in the Lazio region of central Italy, with an area of approximately .
It is bordered by the Tolfa and Sabatini mountains to the north, the Alban Hills to the southeast, and the Tyrrh ...
in 1601–1605 for the
Aldobrandini family
The House of Aldobrandini is an Italian noble family originally from Florence, where in the Middle Ages they held the most important municipal offices. Now the Aldobrandini are resident in Rome, with close ties to the Vatican.
History
Their ...
. Castello di Torrenova was originally a medieval farmhouse that Fontana enlarged and embellished with
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...
details and crenellated walls. Next to the castle, a small late Renaissance church was built dedicated to Saint Clement, the patron saint of the Aldobrandini Pope,
Clement VIII
Pope Clement VIII (; ; 24 February 1536 – 3 March 1605), born Ippolito Aldobrandini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 30 January 1592 to his death in March 1605.
Born in Fano, Papal States to a prominen ...
. He also worked on the garden of Cardinal
Pietro Aldobrandini
Pietro Aldobrandini (31 March 1571 – 10 February 1621) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal and patron of the arts.
Biography
Pietro Aldobrandini was a cousin of Cardinal Cinzio Aldobrandini, and uncle of Cardinals Silvestro a ...
's
Villa Aldobrandini
The Villa Aldobrandini is a villa in Frascati, Italy. It is still owned and lived in by the Aldobrandini family, and known as Belvedere for its location overlooking the valley toward the city of Rome.
It is the only grand Papal garden not owned ...
in
Frascati
Frascati () is a city and in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital in the Lazio region of central Italy. It is located south-east of Rome, on the Alban Hills close to the ancient city of Tusculum. Frascati is closely associated with science, ...
.
Fontana was the first great architect-engineer who carved out a role in hydraulics that deals with the leveling of land, the conduct of canals, and the control of the speed of water. He brought water back to Rome by reorganizing and exploiting the hydraulic works of the past. Around 1612,
Pope Paul V
Pope Paul V (; ) (17 September 1552 – 28 January 1621), born Camillo Borghese, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 16 May 1605 to his death, in January 1621. In 1611, he honored Galileo Galilei as a mem ...
commissioned Fontana to design the
Fontana dell'Acqua Paola
The Fontana dell'Acqua Paola, also known as Il Fontanone ("The big fountain") or Mostra dell'Acqua Paola, is a monumental fountain located on the Janiculum Hill, near the church of San Pietro in Montorio, in Rome, Italy. It was built in 1612 to ...
on the
Janiculum
The Janiculum (; ), occasionally known as the Janiculan Hill, is a hill in western Rome, Italy. Although it is the second-tallest hill (the tallest being Monte Mario) in the contemporary city of Rome, the Janiculum does not figure among the pro ...
to create a source of clean drinking water for the residents. The form of the fountain served as an inspiration for the later Trevi Fountain.