Niccolo Michetti

Nicola Michetti, also known as Niccolo or Niccolò (circa 7 December 1675 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 ...

– 12 November 1758 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, ...

) was an Italian architect, active in a late-

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 ...

style in mostly

, Italy and

St 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 ...

, Russia. While born in Venice, Nicola worked for years in

under

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

, including as a foreman (Capomaestro) in the reconstruction of the Basilica of Santi Apostoli. Nicola independently submitted a proposal for the

Trevi Fountain The Trevi Fountain () is an 18th-century fountain in the Trevi (rione of Rome), Trevi district in Rome, Italy, designed by Italian architect Nicola Salvi and completed by Giuseppe Pannini in 1762 and several others. Standing high and wide, it i ...

(1704), however, the winning commission went to Salvi. Nicola performed smaller architectural projects in Rome, including the altar and the architecture of the ''Sacripante chapel'' (1712) in

Sant'Ignazio The Church of St. Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius (, ) is a Latin Catholic titular church, of deaconry rank, dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Society of Jesus, located in Rome, Italy. Built in Baroque style between 1626 and ...

. In 1715, he submitted a losing design against competitors like Juvarra, Canevari and others to be able to design a new sacristy of St. Peter's Basilica. That same year, he designed and help build a chapel of the church of

Santa Maria in Transpontina Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christma ...

and for the ''Rospigliosi chapel'' in the church of

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 ...

(which hosts an altarpiece by Chiari). Between 1718 and 1723, Michetti moved to Russia, and became employed by Tsar Peter the Great as court architect. His main work of these years is the garden and the cascading fountain of the

Peterhof Palace The Peterhof Palace ( rus, Петерго́ф, Petergóf, p=pʲɪtʲɪrˈɡof; an emulation of German "Peterhof", meaning "Peter's Court") is a series of palaces and gardens located in Petergof, Saint Petersburg, Russia, commissioned by Peter th ...

near

. He made designs for

Kadriorg Palace Kadriorg Palace (, ) is an 18th-century Petrine Baroque palace in Kadriorg, Tallinn, the capital of Estonia. Both the Estonian and the German names for the palace mean "Catherine's valley". It was built in 1718–1725 to Nicola Michetti's desi ...

Tallinn Tallinn is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Estonia, most populous city of Estonia. Situated on a Tallinn Bay, bay in north Estonia, on the shore of the Gulf of Finland of the Baltic Sea, it has a population of (as of 2025) and ...

and the

Constantine Palace Constantine Palace (), also known as the Great Strelna Palace (), is a Russian imperial palace started in 1720 and located in Strelna in St. Petersburg. It is currently managed by the Directorate of the President of the Russian Federation. His ...

Strelna Strelna ( rus, Стре́льна, p=ˈstrʲelʲnə) is a municipal settlement in Petrodvortsovy District of the federal city of Saint Petersburg, Russia, about halfway between Saint Petersburg proper and Petergof, and overlooking the shore ...

. His plan for a monumental lighthouse on the Black Sea was never executed. Many of his designs from the Russian era are now in the Hermitage Museum . Returning to Rome, Michetti was inducted into 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 1725 and appointed architect of the Apostolic Chamber and of the Theatine Order. During these few years in Rome, he completed other important commissions including the renovation of Palazzo Colonna (1731-1735), as well as much work in ephemeral scenography in the theater. Tallinn park kadrioru

Biography on Treccani Encyclopedia
1675 births 1758 deaths Republic of Venice architects People from the Papal States Russian Baroque architects Italian Baroque architects 18th-century Italian architects {{Italy-architect-stub