Pietro Paolo Floriani (26 April 1585 – 27 May 1638) was an Italian

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

and

architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...

who designed military and theatrical buildings.

Life and work

Floriani was born on 26 April 1585 in the town of

Macerata Macerata () is a city and ''comune'' in central Italy, the county seat of the province of Macerata in the Marche region. It has a population of about 41,564. History The historical city centre is on a hill between the Chienti and Potenza (ri ...

to Pompeo Floriani and Claudia Rotelli. In 1606 he married Maria Fedeli, but she died in 1608 while giving birth to their daughter Camilla. In 1608 he went to Crema where he was employed by the governor of the city Orazio del Monte. In 1611 he went to

Pesaro Pesaro (; ) is a (municipality) in the Italy, Italian region of Marche, capital of the province of Pesaro and Urbino, on the Adriatic Sea. According to the 2011 census, its population was 95,011, making it the second most populous city in the ...

, and by July 1612 he was already highly regarded among the gentlemen of Macerata. In autumn 1612 Floriani settled in

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, where King Philip III commissioned him for a number of projects including to explore the fortifications of

Algiers Algiers is the capital city of Algeria as well as the capital of the Algiers Province; it extends over many Communes of Algeria, communes without having its own separate governing body. With 2,988,145 residents in 2008Census 14 April 2008: Offi ...

to plan a conquest of the city. In 1617 Floriani was sent to work for the Governor of Milan Pedro Álvarez de Toledo, who had begun an extensive defensive engineering program. Floriani spent about a year in Milan, and although the King of Spain invited him to return to the Algiers project, he declined as he had been commissioned by Archduke Leopold V to fortify the town of Brisach in Hungary. He then took part in strengthening the defences of

Pressburg Bratislava (German: ''Pressburg'', Hungarian: ''Pozsony'') is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the Slovakia, Slovak Republic and the fourth largest of all List of cities and towns on the river Danube, cities on the river Danube. ...

and

Vienna Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...

. He was present at the

Battle of White Mountain The Battle of White Mountain (; ) was an important battle in the early stages of the Thirty Years' War. It led to the defeat of the Bohemian Revolt and ensured Habsburg control for the next three hundred years. It was fought on 8 November 16 ...

in 1620. Within the next couple of years he designed both military and non-military buildings in other cities including

Altenburg Altenburg () is a city in Thuringia, Germany, located south of Leipzig, west of Dresden and east of Erfurt. It is the capital of the Altenburger Land district and part of a polycentric old-industrial textile and metal production region betw ...

, until he resigned as a military engineer in 1624. He then had a successful military career and was eventually appointed as a warden in

Castel Sant'Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

in December 1627. He then married Lucrezia Gardina, the widow of Lorenzo Costa. In early 1629 he was appointed by Carlo Barberini and so he went to

Ferrara Ferrara (; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Emilia-Romagna, Northern Italy, capital of the province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main ...

, and he also worked for

Pope Urban VIII Pope Urban VIII (; ; baptised 5 April 1568 – 29 July 1644), born Maffeo Vincenzo Barberini, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 6 August 1623 to his death, in July 1644. As pope, he expanded the papal terri ...

In 1635, the Grandmaster of the Order of Saint John Fra

Antoine de Paule Fra' Antoine de Paule (c. 1551 – 9 June 1636) was elected the 56th Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller (the Order of Malta) on 10 March 1623. He died on Malta thirteen years later, on 9 June 1636, after a long illness and at the age of 85. ...

invited Floriani to discuss how to strengthen the landward fortifications of

Valletta Valletta ( ; , ) is the capital city of Malta and one of its 68 Local councils of Malta, council areas. Located between the Grand Harbour to the east and Marsamxett Harbour to the west, its population as of 2021 was 5,157. As Malta’s capital ...

, the capital city of

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

, over which the Order was sovereign. A line of fortifications was designed by Floriani, and these became known as the Floriana Lines. The area between Valletta and the new fortifications eventually became a town in its own right, and was named

Floriana Floriana ( or ''Il-Floriana''), also known by its title Borgo Vilhena, is a Floriana Lines, fortified town in the Port Region, Malta, Port Region area of Malta, just outside the capital city Valletta. It has a population of 2,205 as of March 2014 ...

after the engineer. In 1637 he went to

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 to his hometown Macerata, before being called back to Ferrara. He died there on 27 May 1638. Floriani had written his will in 1632 in which he asked to be buried with his brother Felice who had died in 1630 at the church of Santa Croce in Macerata. The church was later destroyed by the French in 1799.

Legacy

Floriani is a key figure in his native town of

and throughout the region of the

Marche Marche ( ; ), in English sometimes referred to as the Marches ( ) from the Italian name of the region (Le Marche), is one of the Regions of Italy, twenty regions of Italy. The region is located in the Central Italy, central area of the country, ...

due to his multifaceted personality which is revealed in two of his annotated manuscripts from the Compagnoni Floriani di Macerata with sketches of theatrical scenes. He is also widely remembered as an architect for designing the Floriana Lines and being the namesake of

. In 2006, a documentary was made about his life, although it included some fictional elements as well. The town of Floriana was twinned with Macerata in 2007. The Floriana Local Council also built a statue of the architect in Pjazza Robert Samut. The monument was designed by a young Maltese architect Chris Ebejer and was unveiled on 17 April 2009 by the Mayor of Floriana Nigel Holland, in the presence of the Mayor of Macerata, Giorgio Meschini and Countess Carla Compagnoni Floriani, a descendant of the engineer, and other guests.The Floriani Monument
. Floriana Local Council. Retrieved 14 June 2014.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Floriani, Pietro Paolo 1585 births 1638 deaths Italian engineers People from Macerata Floriana 17th-century Italian architects People from the Papal States