Romano Carapecchia

Romano Fortunato Carapecchia (1666–1738) was an Italian Baroque architect who was active in Rome, Malta and Sicily. His designs helped transform Malta's capital Valletta into a Baroque city in the first few decades of the 18th century.

Romano Carapecchia
Born1666
Died1738(1738-00-00) (aged 71–72)
NationalityItalian
EducationAccademia di San Luca
OccupationArchitect
StyleBaroque
Parents
  • Giovanni Antonio Carapecchia (father)
  • Francesca Roveti (mother)

Biography

Church of San Giovanni Calibita, one of Carapecchia's early works in Rome

Carapecchia was born to Giovanni Antonio Carapecchia and Francesca Roveti in the parish of Sant'Eustachio, Rome in 1666.[1] He studied at the Accademia di San Luca, where he won first prize for designing a palace in the seconda classe in 1681. Between around 1681 and 1691, he also worked within the studio of Carlo Fontana. In 1689, he wrote a treatise about theatre design entitled Pratica delle Machine de' Teatri.[2] He also kept a record of his education in a document entitled Compendio Architettonico inventato da Romano Carapecchia. His career as an architect began in Rome, where he is credited with designing several buildings. He also designed urban schemes and fountains, and he produced a catafalque for Pope Alexander VIII[1] in collaboration with Mattia de Rossi.[2]

On 27 November 1706, Pope Clement XI sent a breve pontificio to Grand Master Ramón Perellós in which he praised the work of Carapecchia.[2] In 1707 the latter left Rome and he settled in Valletta, the capital of Hospitaller Malta which was ruled by Perellós.[1] He acquired the Grand Master's favour and he spent the rest of his career in Malta, where he played a role in transforming Valletta into a Baroque city[2] through the design of numerous churches, palaces and other buildings.[1] In 1708 and 1723, Carapecchia made studies about the water supply of the cities around Malta's Grand Harbour.[2] He also worked under Perellós' successors, most notably António Manoel de Vilhena,[3] for whom he designed a catafalque in 1726.[2] Carapecchia also designed furniture in some of his projects, such as cupboards within the sacristy of Valletta's Church of St Paul.[4] While based in Malta, he was also involved in some projects in nearby Sicily.[1]

Carapecchia died in Malta in 1738.[3]

Works

Architectural works designed by or attributed to Carapecchia include:

Rome
Valletta
Manoel Theatre in Valletta
Elsewhere in Malta
Sicily
  • Competition entry for the reconstruction of the Catania Cathedral (1709)[1]
  • Restoration of a Hospitaller complex in Marsala (1715)[1]

Legacy

An album of architectural drawings by Carapecchia still exists at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London. A book has been published about him by the Maltese historian Denis De Lucca.[3]

References

  1. De Lucca, Denis (December 2013). "The city-fortress of Valletta in the Baroque age" (PDF). Baroque Routes. No. 9. pp. 8–17. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2 October 2020.
  2. De Lucca, Denis (June 2011). "Ephemeral Manifestations in Baroque Malta" (PDF). Baroque Routes. No. 8. pp. 8–16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2020.
  3. Gambin, Kenneth (2001). "Carapecchia's intervention at the Inquisitor's Palace, 1733–34" (PDF). Malta Archaeological Review (4): 34–39. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 October 2020.
  4. Bondin, Ray (8 March 2008). "Carapecchia's furniture". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020.
  5. Vella, Theresa (16 June 2019). "A 'new' fountain for the Marina waterfront". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 18 June 2019.
  6. Spiteri, Stephen C. (2014). "Fort Manoel". ARX Occasional Papers (4): 130–131. Retrieved 8 October 2020.
  7. Mifsud, Christian (2017). "Decoding a modified space: the lost spaces of Del Monte Gate". Melita Historica. XVII (2): 61–82.
  8. Bugeja, Lino (27 December 2015). "17th-century bishop's summer house in ruins". Times of Malta. Archived from the original on 8 October 2020.

Further reading

  • De Lucca, Denis (1999). Carapecchia: Master of Baroque Architecture in Early Eighteenth Century Malta. Valletta: Midsea Books. ISBN 9789990993004.
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