Orazio Torriani was an architect who worked in
RomeRome 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...
. In 1602 he rebuilt the church of
San Lorenzo in MirandaThe Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, adapted to the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. It stands in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.-The temple:...
within the
cella of the
Temple of Antoninus and FaustinaThe Temple of Antoninus and Faustina is an ancient Roman temple in Rome, adapted to the church of San Lorenzo in Miranda. It stands in the Forum Romanum, on the Via Sacra, opposite the Regia.-The temple:...
. In 1624 he built the façade for the ancient basilica of
San Bartolomeo all'IsolaThe Basilica of St. Bartholomew on the Island is a titular minor basilica, located in Rome, Italy. It was founded at the end of the 10th century by Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor. It contains the relics of St...
on the
Tiber IslandThe Tiber Island , is a boat-shaped island which has long been associated with healing. It is an ait, and is one of the two islands in the Tiber river, which runs through Rome; the other one, much larger, is near the mouth. The island is located in the southern bend of the Tiber. It is...
, a work commissioned by Cardinal Trescio. At the church of
Santi Domenico e SistoSanti Domenico e Sisto is a titular church in Rome. It is located on Largo Angelicum on the Quirinal Hill, and is devoted to Saint Dominic and Saint Sixtus.-History:...
the double staircase built in 1654 appears to be his work, and at the church of
Santi Cosma e DamianoThe basilica of Santi Cosma e Damiano is a church in Rome, Italy, located in the Roman Forum. It is one of the ancient churches called tituli, of which cardinals are patrons as deacons: the Cardinal Deacon of the Titulus Ss. Cosmae et Damiani is Giovanni Cheli...
his project, commissioned by
Urban VIII BarberiniPope Urban VIII , born Maffeo Barberini, was pope from 1623 to 1644. He was the last pope to expand the papal territory by force of arms, and was a prominent patron of the arts and reformer of Church missions...
and directed by Luigi Arrigucci, raised the floor to consort with the modern level of the
Forum of VespasianThe Imperial Fora consist of a series of monumental fora , constructed in Rome over a period of one and half centuries, between 46 BC and 113 AD. The forums were the center of the Roman Republic and of the Roman Empire.The Imperial forums, while not part of the Roman Forum, are located relatively...
.
He built the church of San Francesco di Paola (1624-1630), and in
TrastevereTrastevere is rione XIII of Rome, on the west bank of the Tiber, south of Vatican City. Its name comes from the Latin trans Tiberim, meaning literally "beyond the Tiber". The correct pronunciation is "tras-TEH-ve-ray", with the accent on the second syllable. Its logo is a golden head of a lion on a...
, that of
San CallistoSan Callisto is a Roman Catholic titular church in Rome, Italy, built over the site of Saint Pope Callistus I and the location of his martyrdom. The original building dates form the time of Pope Gregory III who order the building of a church on the site. The church has been rebuilt twice since,...
. The aedicular altar in
Sant'AgostinoSant'Agostino is a church in Rome, Italy, not far from Piazza Navona. It is one of the first Roman churches built during the Renaissance. The construction was funded by Guillaume d'Estouteville, Archbishop of Rouen and Papal Chancellor. The façade was built in 1483 by Giacomo di Pietrasanta, using...
(1627), often attributed to
BerniniGian Lorenzo Bernini was an Italian artist who worked principally in Rome. He was the leading sculptor of his age and also a prominent architect...
, is his design.
In the construction of the façade for the Jesuit church of
Sant'IgnazioThe Church of Saint Ignatius of Loyola at Campus Martius is Roman Catholic titular church dedicated to Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuit order, located in Rome, Italy...
Torriani was called in, with
Martino Longhi the Youngerthumb|300px|Detail of the façade of [[Sant'Antonio dei Portoghesi]] in [[Rome]].Martino Longhi the Younger was an Italian architect of the Baroque period active in Rome, in a milieu when the most prominent competition for commissions came from no less than Gian Lorenzo Bernini, Francesco...
, to critique the revised design by the Jesuit, Fra Antonio Sasso; they found fault with it and recommended, in vain, that the original design by Father Antonio Grassi be adhered to. Their proposals included no contributions of their own.
More than thirty drawings by Torriani are conserved in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin.
Like all designers of the Renaissance and Baroque, Torriani was called upon to design quite temporary constructions for feasts and occasions, and here his work could express the most recent developments. We only know about his
thalamus for the procession at
Santa Maria sopra MinervaThe Basilica of Saint Mary Above Minerva is a titular minor basilica and one of the most important churches of the Roman Catholic Dominican order in Rome, Italy. The church, located in the Piazza della Minerva in the Campus Martius region, is considered the only Gothic church in Rome. It houses...
at the
Feast of the RosaryThe Feast of the Rosary is a 1506 oil painting by Albrecht Dürer, now in the National Gallery, Prague, Czech Republic.-History:...
, 5 October 1625, because it was memorialised in an engraving. It was an openwork domed
baldachinA baldachin, or baldaquin , is a canopy of state over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over high altars in cathedrals, where such a structure is more correctly called a ciborium when it is...
supported in
Solomonic columnThe Solomonic column, also called Barley-sugar column, is a helical column, characterized by a spiraling twisting shaft like a corkscrew...
s such as those Bernini was providing for
St. Peter's BasilicaThe Papal Basilica of Saint Peter , officially known in Italian as ' and commonly known as Saint Peter's Basilica, is a Late Renaissance church located within the Vatican City. Saint Peter's Basilica has the largest interior of any Christian church in the world...
. There are further designs for ephemeral occasions in the Kunstbibliothek Berlin.