Giulio Parigi (6 April 1571 – 13 July 1635) was an Italian architect and designer. He was the main member of a family of architects and designers working for the Grand Ducal court of the

Medici The House of Medici ( , ; ) was an Italian banking family and political dynasty that first consolidated power in the Republic of Florence under Cosimo de' Medici and his grandson Lorenzo "the Magnificent" during the first half of the 15th ...

. His father, Alfonso Parigi the Elder, was an architect and designer working in Florence for the

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

. He became noted as one of the most innovative stage designers of the 17th-century and was also the first architect to use the

loggia In architecture, a loggia ( , usually , ) is a covered exterior Long gallery, gallery or corridor, often on an upper level, sometimes on the ground level of a building. The corridor is open to the elements because its outer wall is only parti ...

style in public buildings.

Early life and education

Giulio Parigi was born in Florence on 6 April 1571, the son of Alfonso di Santi Parigi and his wife, Alessandra di Berto Fiammeri. His father was an architect and set designer who was in service to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. Giulio grew up in Medici Florence, amongst the craftsmen who worked for his father. In 1594 he was enrolled at the Academy of Design as a painter and in 1597 he was enrolled at the Grand Ducal Court He was apprenticed to his father, Alfonso, Bartolomeo di Antonio Ammannati (1511–1592) and also to the theatre engineer, Bernardo Buontalenti (1535–1608).

Career

Through his father's collaborations under the court architect Bernardo Buontalenti, Giulio Parigi was trained in the practice of architecture. Following Buontalenti's death (1608) he designed and oversaw the creation of the elaborate ephemeral decorations for court festivities, in which he was an influence on

Inigo Jones Inigo Jones (15 July 1573 – 21 June 1652) was an English architect who was the first significant Architecture of England, architect in England in the early modern era and the first to employ Vitruvius, Vitruvian rules of proportion and symmet ...

, who was providing similar services in the same years for the court of

James I of England James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 unti ...

. He also was an important early scenic designer for

opera Opera is a form of History of theatre#European theatre, Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by Singing, singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically ...

s at the birth of that artform. He staged operas at the Medici court and in Florence's opera houses; creating innovative new machinery for sets for work's like

Ottavio Rinuccini Ottavio Rinuccini (20 January 1563Firenze, Registro dei battezzati al fonte di S. Giovanni tenuto dal preposto di S. Giovanni, Registro 14, Carta 76v. – 28 March 1621) was an Italian poet, courtier, and opera libretto, librettist at the end of th ...

’s ''Festa dell’Agnolo Gabriello'' (1620) and Marco da Gagliano’s ''La regina Sant’Orsola'' (1624). His son, Alfonso Parigi, was also an innovative scenic designer for operas. In 1610 Parigi built the Convent of the Peace of the Friars of St. Bernard, outside of the Roman Gate (now destroyed). From 1613 onwards Giulio worked intensively as a civil engineer commissioned by the Grand Duke. Giulio worked on the

Boboli Gardens The Boboli Gardens ( /’bo.bo.li/) is a historical park of the city of Florence that was opened to the public in 1766. Originally designed for the Medici, it represents one of the first and most important examples of the Italian garden, which l ...

, constructing the Grotto of Vulcan (''Grotticina di Vulcano'', 1617) and laying out the second axis of the

, at right angles to the first, with the bosquets on either side. Giulio constructed the Loggia del Grano in 1619, a Tuscan style loggia, and was thus amongst the first architects to employ the

in public buildings such as markets. The loggias established a pattern of market trading using mobile stalls under covered arcades which filtered out of the Italian peninsula and across Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries. Earlier exponents of this style included Giovanni Battista del Tasso with the Mercato Nuovo in 1547 and

Giorgio Vasari Giorgio Vasari (30 July 1511 – 27 June 1574) was an Italian Renaissance painter, architect, art historian, and biographer who is best known for his work ''Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects'', considered the ideol ...

with the Mercato Vecchio in Florence in 1567. Giulio rebuilt the Villa di Poggio Imperiale (1620–1622), and constructed the Ospedale dei Medicanti (1621), the church of San Felice in Piazza (1634–1635) and worked on projects for the Palazzo della Crocetta for Maria Maddalena de' Medici. His is also the grand stairs of Palazzo Gianni-Lucchesini-Vegni (1624). In the 16th and 17th century, theatre was for the very wealthy. Parigi constructed many sets for the Medici Court. Although none of these sets have survived, descriptions of them have been passed down. Parigi's set designs were notable for the instructions of machines that could emulate natural phenomena. These designs earned him a reputation as one of the most innovative stage designers of the 17th century.Valleriani, M., ''The Structures of Practical Knowledge,'' Springer, 2015, pp. 91–97 Parigi's worked straddled many various media and disciplines. He was an artist who worked in oil, drawing and frescoes; he was an engraver, cabinet-maker, jeweller, landscape designer, architect and engineer. His work as a set designer required skills in engineering and mechanics in which he was noted for his innovations. He was also the Master of an Academy where he studied Euclid, taught mechanics, perspective, civilian and military architecture.

Later life and family

Giulio's son, Alfonso's grandson, Alfonso Parigi the Younger was also an architect and engraver. Alfonso worked with his father and under his supervision, completed some of the major projects. Parigi died in Florence on 13 July 1635.

Influence

According to the ''Dictionary of Biography,'' "The centrality of the role played by Giulio Parigi in the artistic culture of his time emerges with great clarity in the Privilege that on February 14, 1623 it was granted to him by Grand Duke Ferdinand II ... recalling how during the grandfathers of Ferdinand I and of Cosimo II there was no "factory or work famous" that had not been invented, manned and "perfected" by Parigi."

Gallery

Parigi's Work: Architecture File:Loggia del grano e complesso dell'ex-cinema capitol (2021) 01.jpg, Loggia del grano, Florence, Italy, 1619 File:Cosimo II, loggia del Grano.JPG, Loggia del Grano, Florence (detail of facade) File:Boboli pianta antica.jpg, Plan of Boboli Gardens, 1617 File:Boboli, grotticina 01.JPG, Grotticina, Boboli Gardens Villa del poggio imperiale, esterno 06.jpg, Villa di Poggio Imperiale, 1620–22 File:San Felice in Piazza esterno.JPG, San Felice, Piazza, 1634–1635 File:Design for a Balustrade with Female Figures and Urns MET DP802604.jpg, Design for a Balustrade with Female Figures and Urns File:Sixth interlude- temple of peace (Intermedio sesto- tempio della pace), from the series 'Seven Interludes' for the wedding celebration of Cosimo de' Medici in Florence, 1608 MET DP832206.jpg, Sixth interlude- temple of peace (Intermedio sesto- tempio della pace), set design from the series 'Seven Interludes' for the wedding celebration of Cosimo de' Medici in Florence, 1608

References

* Arthur Blumenthal, 'Giulio Parigi's Stage Designs: Florence and the Early Baroque Spectacle', PhD, New York University, 1984. * Arthur Blumenthal, ''Theatre Art of the Medici'', Dartmouth:1980 * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parigi, Giulio 1571 births 1635 deaths 17th-century Italian architects Architects from Florence