Camillo-Guarino Guarini
Encyclopedia
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
of the Piedmontese
Piedmont
Piedmont is one of the 20 regions of Italy. It has an area of 25,402 square kilometres and a population of about 4.4 million. The capital of Piedmont is Turin. The main local language is Piedmontese. Occitan is also spoken by a minority in the Occitan Valleys situated in the Provinces of...
Baroque
Baroque architecture
Baroque architecture is a term used to describe the building style of the Baroque era, begun in late sixteenth century Italy, that took the Roman vocabulary of Renaissance architecture and used it in a new rhetorical and theatrical fashion, often to express the triumph of the Catholic Church and...
, active in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
as well as Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
. He was a Theatine
Theatines
The Theatines or the Congregation of Clerks Regular of the Divine Providence are a male religious order of the Catholic Church, with the post-nominal initials "C.R."-Foundation:...
priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
.
Biography
Guarini was born in ModenaModena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
. He was accepted as a Theatine novice
Catholic novitiate
A novice in Catholic law and tradition, is a prospective member of a religious order who is being tried and being proven for suitability of admission to a religious order of brothers, sisters or monks....
in 1639, spent his novitiate at the monastery of San Silvestro al Quirinale
San Silvestro al Quirinale
San Silvestro al Quirinale is a historic church in central Rome, Italy.-History:The first mentions of a church on the site are from 1039, when it was called Santo Stefano in Cavallo in recognition of its site on Monte Cavallo, a small hill in the Campo Marzio.In 1507, the church was granted to the...
in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
, and returned to Modena in 1647, where he was ordained in 1648. He rose quickly in the Theatine hierarchy
Hierarchy
A hierarchy is an arrangement of items in which the items are represented as being "above," "below," or "at the same level as" one another...
, becoming first auditor, then superintendent of works, treasurer
Treasurer
A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The adjective for a treasurer is normally "tresorial". The adjective "treasurial" normally means pertaining to a treasury, rather than the treasurer.-Government:...
, lecturer
Lecturer
Lecturer is an academic rank. In the United Kingdom, lecturer is a position at a university or similar institution, often held by academics in their early career stages, who lead research groups and supervise research students, as well as teach...
in philosophy
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
, procuratore, and finally provost
Provost (religion)
A provost is a senior official in a number of Christian churches.-Historical Development:The word praepositus was originally applied to any ecclesiastical ruler or dignitary...
in 1654. Prince Alfonso
Alfonso IV d'Este
Alfonso IV d'Este was Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1658 until his death. He was the father of Mary of Modena, consort of James II of England.-Biography:...
supported another candidate and Guarini was soon replaced and had to leave Modena. The next few years are poorly documented. He became a member of the Theatine House of Parma
Parma
Parma is a city in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna famous for its ham, its cheese, its architecture and the fine countryside around it. This is the home of the University of Parma, one of the oldest universities in the world....
in 1656 and apparently visited Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
and Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
before publishing his play La Pietà trionfante in Messina in 1660, where he was a lecturer in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
.
It is claimed he first became an architect to the Duke Philibert of Savoy. He wrote four mathematical books in both Latin and Italian, of which Euclides adauctus is a work on descriptive geometry
Descriptive geometry
Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions, by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design and in art...
. In 1665, he published a mathematical-philosophical tract Placita Philosophica defending the geocentric universe against Copernicus and Galileo.
He designed a large number of public and private buildings in Turin
Turin
Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat...
, including the palaces of the Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II, Duke of Savoy
Charles Emmanuel II was the Duke of Savoy from 1638 to 1675 and under regency of his mother Christine Marie of France until 1663. He was also Marquis of Saluzzo, Count of Aosta, Geneva, Moriana and Nice, as well as claimant king of Cyprus and Jerusalem...
(as well as his sister (Louise Christine of Savoy), the Royal Church of San Lorenzo
Church of San Lorenzo, Turin
The Royal Church of San Lorenzo is a church in Turin, adjacent to the Royal Palace of Turin.- External links :*...
(1666–1680), most of the Chapel of the Holy Shroud
Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist (Turin)
Turin Cathedral is the major Roman Catholic church of Turin, northern Italy. Dedicated to Saint John the Baptist , it was built during 1491-1498 and it is adjacent to an earlier campanile...
(housing the Shroud of Turin
Shroud of Turin
The Shroud of Turin or Turin Shroud is a linen cloth bearing the image of a man who appears to have suffered physical trauma in a manner consistent with crucifixion. It is kept in the royal chapel of the Cathedral of Saint John the Baptist in Turin, northern Italy. The image on the shroud is...
, 1668, incorporating beginnings by Carlo di Castellamonte
Carlo di Castellamonte
Carlo di Castellamonte was an Italian architect, civil and military engineer, one of the main exponents of Piedmontese Baroque.Castellamonte was born in Turin. After his studies in Rome, he returned in Piedmont where was assistant to Ascanio Vitozzi...
), the Palazzo Carignano
Palazzo Carignano
The Palazzo Carignano is a historical building in the centre of Turin, Italy, which currently houses the Museum of the Risorgimento. It was once a private residence of the Princes of Carignano, after whom it is named. It is famous for its unique rounded façade...
(1679–85), the Castle of Racconigi
Castle of Racconigi
The Royal Castle of Racconigi is a palace and landscape park in Racconigi, province of Cuneo, Italy. It was the official residence of the Carignano line of the House of Savoy, and is one of the Residences of the Royal House of Savoy included by UNESCO in the World Heritage Sites list.-History:The...
and many other public and ecclesiastical buildings at Modena
Modena
Modena is a city and comune on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena in the Emilia-Romagna region of Italy....
, Messina, Verona
Verona
Verona ; German Bern, Dietrichsbern or Welschbern) is a city in the Veneto, northern Italy, with approx. 265,000 inhabitants and one of the seven chef-lieus of the region. It is the second largest city municipality in the region and the third of North-Eastern Italy. The metropolitan area of Verona...
, Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Prague
Prague
Prague is the capital and largest city of the Czech Republic. Situated in the north-west of the country on the Vltava river, the city is home to about 1.3 million people, while its metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of over 2.3 million...
, Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
, and Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. acclaimed the finest urban palace of the second half of the 17th century in Italy. The Palazzo Carignano is regarded as one of the finest urban palace of the second half of the 17th century in Italy. Guarini appears to have been influenced by Borromini. Between 1657 and 1659 he stayed in Spain, where he studied Moorish buildings; this influenced the style of some of his buildings in Turin.
Guarini died in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. In architecture, his successors include Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra
Filippo Juvarra was an Italian architect and stage set designer.-Biography:Filippo Juvarra was an Italian Baroque architect working in the early part of the eighteenth century. He was born in Messina, Sicily, to a family of goldsmiths and engravers...
, and Juvarra's pupil Bernardo Vittone
Bernardo Vittone
Bernardo Antonio Vittone was an Italian architect and writer. He was one of the three most important Baroque architects active in the Piedmont region of Northern Italy; the other two were Filippo Juvarra and Guarino Guarini. The youngest of the three, Vittone was the only one who was born in the...
. The latter published his designs in Architettura Civile in 1737.
Works
- Church of the Somascian Order (Messina, unbuilt project)
- Facade of Santissima Annunziata and adjacent Theatine palace (Messina, destroyed in 1908 earthquake)
- Sainte Anne le Royale (1662, destroyed 1823)
- Santa Maria della Divina Providenca (Lisbon, destroyed by the 1755 earthquake)
- San Filippo Neri (completed by Juvarra)
- Colegio dei Nobili (1678, Turin)
- Capella della Santissima Sindone (Turin)
- Real chiesa di San Lorenzo (Turin)
- La Consolate (restored later by others)