Mattia de Rossi (14 January 1637 – 2 August 1695) was an Italian architect of the

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 ...

period, active mainly in

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, ...

and surrounding towns.

Biography

Born in Rome to a family of architects and artisans, he rose to prominence under the mentorship of

Gian Lorenzo Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italians, Italian sculptor and Italian architect, architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prom ...

, and even inherited the position as chief architect of the ''Fabbrica di San Pietro'' (workshop of

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

) in 1680 after the master died. In that post, he continued the work that had been started by Bernini on the outside colonnade and the

Ponte Sant’Angelo Ponte Sant'Angelo, originally the Aelian Bridge or Pons Aelius, is a Roman bridge in Rome, Italy, completed in 134 AD by Roman Emperor Hadrian (Publius Aelius Hadrianus), to span the Tiber from the city centre to his newly constructed mauso ...

. He worked during a period with notable competitors, including the prolific

Carlo Fontana Carlo Fontana (1634/1638–1714) was an Italian people, Italian"Carlo Fontana."
''Encyclopæ ...

. Among his works are the facades of the churches of Santa Galla and

San Francesco a Ripa San Francesco a Ripa is a church in Rome, Italy. It is dedicated to Francis of Assisi who once stayed at the adjacent convent. The term ''Ripa'' refers to the nearby riverbank of the Tiber. History The origins of this church are related to a Fr ...

(built 1681–1701); finishing touches or reconstruction for

Sant'Andrea al Quirinale The Church of Saint Andrew on the Quirinal (, ) is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, Italy, built for the Jesuit seminary on the Quirinal Hill. The church of Sant'Andrea, an important example of Roman Baroque architecture, was designed by ...

Santa Maria in Montesanto Santa Maria in Montesanto is a titular minor basilica church in Rome, in the Rione Campo Marzio, which stands in Piazza del Popolo, between Via del Corso and Via del Babuino. It is also known as the Church of the Artists (). The church is pop ...

, and Santa Croce e San Bonaventura dei Lucchesi; the customs office in

Ripa Grande Porto di Ripa Grande was the river port of Rome, just downstream the former ''Pons Sublicius'', where the wares, going up and down the Tiber towards the dock of Fiumicino, were handled. The building of the ''muraglioni'' (massive walls) has erased ...

; the Palazzo Muti Papazzurri (attributed, 1660); the tomb monument to Giovanna Garzoni in

Santi Luca e Martina Santi Luca e Martina is a church in Rome, Italy, situated between the Roman Forum and the Forum of Caesar and close to the Arch of Septimus Severus. History The church was initially dedicated to Saint Martina, martyred in 228 AD during the reig ...

; the Mausoleum of

Leo X Pope Leo X (; born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, 11 December 14751 December 1521) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 March 1513 to his death in December 1521. Born into the prominent political and banking Me ...

; and the monument to

Clement X Pope Clement X (; ; 13 July 1590 – 22 July 1676), born Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 29 April 1670 to his death on 22 July 1676. Emilio Bonaventura Altieri, born in Rome in ...

. This latter funereal monument was designed by de Rossi, but the sculptures were completed by Lazzaro Morelli,

Ercole Ferrata Ercole Ferrata (1610 – 10 July 1686) was an Italian sculptor of the Roman Baroque. Biography A native of Pellio Inferiore, near Como, Ferrata initially apprenticed with Alessandro Algardi, and became one of his prime assistants. When hi ...

and Giuseppe Mazzuoli. He was ''Principe'' or director 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; ...

in 1681 and 1690–1693, when replaced by Carlo Fontana One new attribution is the design, perhaps along with Bernini, of the centralized church and complex of San Bonaventura at

Monterano Canale Monterano is a ''comune'' (municipality), former bishopric and Latin titular see in the Metropolitan City of Rome, in the central Italian region of Lazio (Ancient Latium). Canale Monterano, located about northwest of Rome, borders the foll ...

(1677), which, even in its present ruined state, recalls other mountain-top sanctuary churches in Italy. The buildings were commissioned by the Principe Don Angelo Altieri, nephew of Pope Clement X, who had just acquired the surrounding estate. It was for the ''Padri delle Scuole Pie'', a group of priests engaged in education. In 1683 de Rossi worked for

Camillo Pamphilj Camillo Francesco Maria Pamphili, 1st Prince of San Martino al Cimino and Valmontone (21 February 1622 – 26 July 1666) was an Italian people, Italian Roman Catholic Church, Catholic Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal and Italian nobility, no ...

Valmontone Valmontone is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Rome Capital, Metropolitan City of Rome in the Italian region Lazio, located about southeast of Rome. Geography The historic part of the town is situated on a tuffaceous h ...

, a little town not far from Rome. Here he planned the new main church, the Collegiata, or Church of Saint Mary, inspired by the church of

Sant'Agnese in Agone Sant'Agnese in Agone (also called Sant'Agnese in Piazza Navona) is a 17th-century Baroque church in Rome, Italy. It faces onto the Piazza Navona, one of the main urban spaces in the historic centre of the city and the site where the Early Christ ...

by Borromini (

) and the Church of the Assunta in Ariccia, by

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

. In 1685 de' Rossi decorated on behalf of Cardinal Raimondo Capizucchi the

chapel A chapel (from , a diminutive of ''cappa'', meaning "little cape") is a Christianity, Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. First, smaller spaces inside a church that have their o ...

of San Paolo in the church of

Santa Maria in Campitelli Santa Maria in Campitelli or Santa Maria in Portico (''Santa Maria in Portico di Campitelli'') is a church dedicated to the Virgin Mary on the narrow Piazza di Campitelli in Rione Sant'Angelo, Rome, Italy. The church is served by the Clerics R ...

References

Italy cyberguide entry. Getty ULAN entry.
*''Bernini, Mattia de Rossi and the Church of S. Bonaventura at Monterano'', by Hellmut Hager *''Architectural History ''(1978) pages 68–78, 108–117. {{DEFAULTSORT:Rossi, Mattia de 1637 births 1695 deaths Architects from Rome Italian Baroque architects 17th-century Italian architects