Michele Sanmicheli, sometimes also transcribed asSammicheli,Sanmichele orSammichele (Verona, 1484[note 1] - Verona, 1559), was anItalianarchitect andurban planner who was a citizen of theRepublic of Venice.
After staying inRome to complete his education studying the art ofBramante,Raphael,Sansovino, andSangallo, he returned to Verona, where he received numerous prestigious commissions throughout his life.
Hired by theSerenissima as a military architect, he designed numerous fortifications in the vast Venetian republic, thus ensuring a great reputation for himself. His works can be found inVenice,Verona,Bergamo, andBrescia, and he worked extensively inDalmatia, inZadar andŠibenik,Crete, andCorfu. Due to his sojourns in the latter locations he was probably the only Italian architect of the 16th century to have had the opportunity to see and studyGreek architecture, a possible source of inspiration for his use ofDoric columns without bases.
A tireless worker, in addition to constructions of a military nature he was also involved in the design of palaces and religious architecture of great value.
Much of the information about Michele Sanmicheli's life is known through his first biographer,Giorgio Vasari, who wrote about the Veronese architect in his famous workLe vite de' più eccellenti pittori, scultori e architettori, though providing scant information for the entire period of his training between Verona and Rome.[1]
Sanmicheli was born inVerona, at that time part of theRepublic of Venice. He learned the basics of his profession, along with his brother Jacopo (who died young) and his cousin Matteo Sanmicheli, from his father Giovanni and his uncle Bartolomeo, both stonemasons in Verona,[2] originally from Cima, a hamlet ofPorlezza onLake Ceresio, orLugano.[3][4] The family workshop was a simple artisan's workshop, albeit in contact with several high-quality ateliers. Probably Michele was also able at a young age to acquire intellectual stimulation from his family's acquaintance with Bernardino and Matteo Mazzola, stonemasons and humanists, with whom they collaborated on the construction of the Loggia del Consiglio.[5]
Toward the end of 1505 the young Sanmicheli was already orphaned of both parents while one brother, Jacopo, was close to death, and another brother, Alessandro, was locked in a convent inBologna. This situation gave him little reason to stay in his hometown and so, having sold some family properties in Azzano, he decided to move toRome.[6]
Sanmicheli went to Rome at a young age (in his early twenties),[note 2] to work as an assistant toAntonio da Sangallo. In theUrbe, where he was probably able to move because of the support of two of his brothers, who held prominent positions in the congregation of theCanons Regular of St. Anthony, he had the opportunity to studyclassical sculpture andarchitecture.[2] In Rome he also frequented the architect and inlayerFra Giovanni da Verona, who was active at the papal court, and the circle of theBramanteschi.[7] He soon won praise, so much so that Vasari wrote that "in a short time he became, not only in Rome, but throughout all the places surrounding it, renowned and famous."[1]
In 1509 he then went toOrvieto,[note 3] where he stayed for the next two decades. In 1512, a great opportunity presented itself to him: he was offered the role ofmaster builder at the construction site of theOrvieto Cathedral,[8] a position that allowed him not only to supervise the work of one of the major works of central Italy, but also to be the successor to a dense array of great architects who had previously taken part in the project. This assignment brought him great prestige, and the experience he gained from it, especially in the management of the workforce, would prove most useful when, in the future, he was put in charge of the re-fortification of the Venetian state.[9]
Also in 1512, under the title of "marmoraio," he went toRieti as a guarantor in a dispute over a payment to a Florentine sculptor, while in 1516 he traveled toSpello for an estimate of theciborium kept in the collegiate church of Santa Maria Maggiore.[10]
Due to the fame he gained from being master builder at the cathedral, Sanmicheli was able to obtain some important private commissions, as for example, on April 19, 1516, when he was commissioned by the Sienese merchant Girolamo Petrucci in Orvieto for the family chapel in thechurch of San Domenico, on which he worked until 1524 and which became one of his most important works.[11]
Between 1525 and 1526[note 4] he worked to prepare, on the commission of CardinalAlessandro Farnese, the first design of theMontefiascone Cathedral, an octagonal building surmounted by a dome in the style of Bramante, reminiscent of the one in the church ofSanta Maria di Loreto in Rome.[12] Only the colonnade with entablature remains of this building, due to the fire of 1670 and the subsequent radical renovation byCarlo Fontana. During his time inMontefiascone he also had a love affair of which he did not speak much but which led to the birth of a daughter.[10]
In early 1526 he carried out, at the behest ofClement VII, a survey of the fortifications of the northern borders of thePapal States, which were under threat fromCharles III of Bourbon, which was followed by a detailed report signed withAntonio da Sangallo the Younger.[note 5] From the existing sources it is not immediately clear why the pope turned to Sanmicheli rather than another person for such a delicate assignment;[13] perhaps it was given to him on the recommendation of Cardinal Alessandro Farnese or, more likely, at the behest of Antonio da Sangallo himself.[14] This assignment represented a further turning point in his career in that he thus had the opportunity to visit the most advanced military architecture and to associate with the most highly regarded architects and engineers of the time, who greatly influenced him in his way of designing.
After finishing his service for Clement VII Sanmicheli decided to return, in 1527, to Verona:[7] Vasari wrote that the "desire came to Michele after so many years to see again his homeland and his relatives and friends, but much more the fortresses of the Venetians."[1] After spending a few days in his hometown, he went toTreviso andPadua to study their military architecture. Of his stay in the city of Padua, there is a legend that he was placed under arrest on suspicion of espionage activities, given his great interest in defensive structures.[note 6][15] On a subsequent stay inLegnago for the renovation of the fortress, he met the captain general of the Venetian Republic,Francesco Maria della Rovere, whose acquaintance, as well as the fame he had now acquired, meant that he was offered the position of military engineer for the Serenissima. Thus, in the same way asJacopo Sansovino, he became a salaried officer of the Republic: his acclaim among the Venetians and the tragedy represented by thesack of Rome convinced Sanmicheli never to return toLazio.
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His first assignment in this role was in Verona, between 1527 and 1528, where he was called by Giovanni Emo,podestà of the city, to take charge of the restoration of the Ponte Nuovo bridge over theAdige River. In addition, around the end of 1527, the noblewoman Margherita Pellegrini offered him to design a chapel in memory of her son Nicolò at thechurch of San Bernardino in Verona: to this work the architect applied himself with considerable enthusiasm, producing a work that was much appreciated by the client.[16] ThePellegrini Chapel was then the subject of subsequent retouches by Bartolomeo Giuliari in 1793. On October 28, 1530, when the private work was completed, he was officially appointed superintendent of the military factories of Verona (a position he would hold until his death).[16] With this role he designed the monumental gates of the city:Porta Nuova[note 7] (1532),Porta San Zeno (1541) andPorta Palio (1547);[7] he also began to transform the fortifications of Verona using the bastion system.[note 8] At the same time (between 1531 and 1532) he was responsible for studying and designing the reorganization of the Visconti Citadel of Verona, in collaboration with his nephew Giangirolamo Sanmicheli, who was his faithful collaborator and successor.
As a result of his work in Verona, Sanmicheli's skills as a military architect became known and appreciated outside the borders of the Republic, and thus it was thatFrancesco II Sforza, in 1531, obtained permission to have him as a consultant on the strongholds ofVigevano,Pavia,Alessandria,Lodi, andComo for theLombard duchy. In 1539Charles V also made a request to the Serenissima, which was, however, rejected, for his services to fortifyAntwerp.[17]
His fame as an architect is linked not only to works of a military character but also to civil architecture in theRenaissance style. In 1530 Ludovico di Canossa, abishop of Bayeux who had returned to Verona during the 1520s, commissioned him to design a town house nearCastelvecchio, betweenPorta Borsari and theGavi Arch,[note 9] and a country villa in Grezzano ofMozzecane.Palazzo Canossa was completed shortly after the bishop's death in 1532; among other things, the architect, precisely through Ludovico, got to know the brothers Giovan Francesco, Antonio and Gregorio Bevilacqua, who entrusted him in the late 1520s with the construction of Palazzo Bevilacqua, which faced the Canossa Palace along what is now Corso Cavour, and the restoration of Bevilacqua Castle in 1532.[18]
In 1531 he began work (which would continue until 1537) on the walls ofOrzinuovi, while in the following year he completed studies for the fortifications ofTreviso andBrescia, and for the renovation ofPiazza Contarena inUdine. The following year he was inPadua for extensive studies leading to the construction of the Cornaro bastion.[17]
In 1533 he was very active in Verona, where he built the portals of the palaces of the Capitanio and Podestà at the behest of the Venetian rectors Dolfin and Giustinian,[18] and renovated his family home; he also went toPesaro andSenigallia for consultations related to ports.
In October 1534 Sanmicheli left forZadar at the request of theSenate of the Republic, though not before dictating his will to the Venetian notary Giovanni Cavani. Upon his return to Venice, theCouncil of Ten commissioned him to draw up a secret report on the defenses of the lagoon, a document that demonstrates the excellent methodology used by Sanmicheli, which is still relevant today; with this document, the architect was able to highlight the complex problems of the territory and formalize a redesign with a view to not only military but also civilian efficiency.[19] This assignment was immediately followed, on January 27, by the commission to design the fort of Sant'Andrea, on the island of the same name in front of theVenice Lido, and other lagoon fortifications. This work earned him an appointment on April 14 as chief engineer of the Republic, "both for the excavation and maintenance of our lagoons, as well as for the fortification of our sites [...] from land and sea."
His intense activity as a military architect did not prevent him, however, from also dealing with civil works: in these years he designed for theCornaro family a villa inPiombino Dese (not to be confused withVilla Cornaro, built byPalladio), later demolished in 1795.[20]
Between 1537 and 1540 Sanmicheli experienced a period of intense work, during which he traveled almost continuously to inspect eastern fortifications together with his nephew, with whom personal and professional ties increased; he visitedDalmatia,Zadar,Šibenik,Corfu,Crete, and other places in theStato da Màr.[21] On his return from the long journey he continued to work on the fortifications of the mainland (particularlyOrzinuovi andChioggia), but he also visitedVicenza for advice on the building of thePalazzo della Ragione, an occasion during which he most likely met the architectAndrea Palladio.
In the following years, the Veronese architect still traveled extensively in the vastDomini di Terraferma to carry out surveys and inspections about the various defensive structures, although he had to renounce a new mission to the eastern territories due to precarious physical conditions.[22] He was also very much involved in inspections of hydraulic networks, and he continued to supervise and open numerous construction sites in Verona and Venice.
Having moved permanently to Verona, he devoted himself to the designs of numerous sumptuous patrician residences in the city, as well as the construction of the dome of thechurch of San Giorgio in Braida and the (unfinished) facade ofSanta Maria in Organo. In 1540 he finished work on the Palazzo Pompei, commissioned by the wealthy Lavezzola family,[23] one of the Veronese master's most successful works.[note 10]
In 1541 he designed the Corner Mocenigo Palace in Venice, overlookingCampo San Polo in thesestiere of the same name,[22] the same innovative elements of which can be found in his later works: Palazzo Roncale inRovigo,[24] Palazzo degli Honorij in Verona (1553-54) andPalazzo Grimani di San Luca in Venice (from about 1556), which is also his last masterpiece.
In 1555 he produced drawings for the rebuilding of theBucentaur depot at theVenetian Arsenal, while the following year he worked on a triumphal arch for the entrance ofBona Sforza inPadua.
Hard hit by the loss of his beloved nephew Giangirolamo, in whom he saw his worthy successor, he ended his career with the design of the centrally planned church of Madonna di Campagna, finished by Bernardino Brugnoli in Verona. On April 29, 1559, he dictated a will naming his cousin Paolo as his universal heir,[note 11] and towards the end of August of the same year he passed away in his hometown due to a violent fever.[note 12] His remains are kept in thechurch of San Tomaso Cantuariense.[25]
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Sanmicheli has repeatedly been called an architect with aMannerist style. This, however, is an inadequate definition, since whereas in the architectural achievements ofMichelangelo orGiulio Romano one finds the deliberate transgressions typical of this style, in Sanmicheli the deliberate violation of classical rules appears to be absent: if anything, his transgressions were not aimed at the desire to amaze the observer, but were necessary in order to be able to mix ancient elements with the requirements of modern designs.[26]
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Sanmicheli's style, which certainly appears recognizable and unmistakable,[27] manifests itself as the result of High Renaissance influences (particularlyBramante andRaphael) learned during his stay in central Italy and the predilections of architects already working in Verona and Venice. The Veronese architect learned the canonical rules of architecture from the work ofVitruvius, so much so that Arentino named him in a small group of architects referred to as "Vitruvii in li edifici belli."[28] In some works, however, Sanmicheli did not just slavishly apply the prescriptions of Vitruvian architecture, rather applying them in new ways. Despite the fact that he left no graphic documentation, he had a perfect knowledge of ancient architecture, particularly Veronese architecture, since numerous inspirations are drawn from theArena, theGavi Arch, the destroyed Jupiter Ammon Arch, theRoman theater, and theBorsari andLeoni gates.[29]
While throughout his life Sanmicheli appears rather consistent with one idea of architecture, one can still find in his works a change in style. In his early period he turned out to be more inclined to realize projects endowed with greater complexity and finer workmanship (such as Bevilacqua Palace andPellegrini Chapel), while at the end of his life he favored a more sober yet more monumental style (as in the church of Madonna di Campagna, the architect's last work).[26]
At the height of his career Sanmicheli belonged to the elite of the Venetian artistic scene, on a par withTitian andSansovino; this condition allowed him to be in contact with a large part of the local nobility, and in addition his activity as an architect put him in a position to advise the client about the decorations of the work under construction. In the face of all this, he had the opportunity to recommend many painters and sculptors to his liking, becoming a kind of patron.[30]
Among the painters who most benefited from the relationship with Sanmicheli wereFrancesco Torbido,Battista del Moro,Giovanni Battista Zelotti, andPaolo Veronese,[note 13] the latter one of the most important exponents ofVenetian painting at that time, althoughVasari was also recommended for some works, in particular for the creation of nine panels for one of the ceilings of theCorner Spinelli Palace.[note 14][31] Although many of the sculptural works needed for his projects were done by Sanmicheli himself, he commissioned some from other sculptors, especiallyAlessandro Vittoria, Pietro da Salò, andDanese Cattaneo.[32]
As a result of these considerations, Sanmicheli's influence on Venetian art cannot be relegated to architecture alone, but extended to the practice of painting and sculpture as well.
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Towards the end of the 16th century, Sanmicheli's art strongly influenced the work of contemporary architects, although after his death, as time passed, his influence diminished until it disappeared altogether.[33] One of the architects who more than any other drew inspiration from the work of the Veronese master was certainlyJacopo Sansovino, as can be seen from some of his works, such as theMarciana Library[note 15] and theCorner Palace.[note 16][34] In turn, Sanmicheli also took inspiration from Sansovino's work; this suggests that there were good relations between the two rivals, and that they sometimes shared some ideas.
Another architect who was strongly influenced by the Veronese's work wasAndrea Palladio, so much so that he may have initially considered him as his mentor,[35] though his influence on the Paduan architect waned as he matured, eventually fading away almost completely. Other architects inspired by Sanmicheli wereBartolomeo Ammannati[note 17] andMichelangelo, who, as Vasari recalls, had sympathy and respect for his Veronese colleague. Sanmicheli's closest followers, however, were members of his family: the young Bernardino Brugnoli and his nephews Giangirolamo Sanmicheli and Domenico Curtoni were among those who more than anyone else embraced the artistic legacy of their famous relative. Through them, the Sanmichelian style lived on until the mid-17th century, when the growing popularity of Palladio's approach to architecture overshadowed it.
It would be necessary to wait well beyond the beginning of the 18th century with Bartolomeo dal Pozzo through his workLe vite de' pittori, de gli scultori et architetti veronesi, and especially withScipione Maffei and hisVerona illustrata, for interest in Sanmicheli's work to be rediscovered.[36] This renewed interest is also found later in the studies and works ofAlessandro Pompei,[note 18] as well as inAdriano Cristofali and Luigi Trezza.[36] In the nineteenth century, there were additional Veronese architects and scholars who dealt with his work, such as Michelangelo Castellazzi, who designed Palazzo Ottolini (inPiazza Bra) modeling it on the structure of Palazzo Canossa, and Bartolomeo Giuliari, who in 1816 produced a monograph on Pellegrini Chapel.[37] In 1823, Francesco Ronzani and Girolamo Luciolli finally produced a meticulous collection of Sanmicheli's works.[38]
As a demonstration of this newfound appreciation for Sanmicheli's works, the city of Verona dedicated a statue to him, made byGianbattista Troiani, which still stands in Corso Porta Nuova.[39]
At the height of his career Sanmicheli enjoyed wide recognition among the Venetian ruling class and held a prominent position over other architects in the service of the Serenissima. His position as "Architect to the Most Illustrious Venetian Ducal Empire" led him to superintend numerous projects in the vast territories of the Serenissima, both in theDomini di Terraferma, i.e., northeastern Italy, and in the distant possessions ofCorfu,Crete, andCroatia.[40]
At the beginning of the 16th century, the Venetian government was very concerned about the defense of its borders, fears that had been heightened following theWar of the League of Cambrai, which took place between 1509 and 1516. To safeguard the Republic it was decided to undertake a project to improve defensive structures, so the Venetians found in Sanmicheli the right man to accomplish this delicate task. For him, in 1535, they created ad hoc the post of engineer superintendent of all fortifications in the empire.
Although his fame was mainly related to military works, the Veronese architect also did his best in the construction of civil works, such as ecclesiastical and residential buildings of great value, so much so that he aroused the appreciation of other contemporary architects as well, such asSebastiano Serlio[note 19] andJacopo Sansovino.
Although in the early part of his career he was engaged in the cities of central Italy, the place to which he linked his name more than any other was undoubtedly Verona. In addition to his hometown, where he was a main actor on the architectural scene, he was often called upon for consultations or projects outside the territories of the Serenissima.
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Vasari, who knew him in Venice, attributes to Sanmicheli fundamental innovations in the field of fortifications at a time of general renewal in the field of military works for which the term "trace italienne" is used. However, at least for the first of these innovations, the invention of the angled bastion, it should be remembered that modern historiography attributes it toGiuliano da Sangallo and Antonio da Sangallo. Sanmicheli completed his training in contact with the work of the two brothers and their heirAntonio da Sangallo the Younger, with whom he collaborated at length.
Sanmicheli was called to many places to design or provide consultation about fortifications to defend cities:
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In designing palaces, Sanmicheli was one of the most innovative architects of the 16th century: a feature of his works is the mixing of classical elements, frequent in the works of Bramante and Raphael, with other elements belonging to the local architectural tradition. While it was in Orvieto that Sanmicheli began his career as a palace builder (due to his friendship with Girolamo Petrucci), it was in Verona, however, that he had the opportunity to demonstrate his true abilities.
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Although Sanmicheli is best known as a military architect and for some of his palaces, there is no shortage of buildings for religious purposes in his output. His first assignment in complete autonomy was to supervise work on the Orvieto Cathedral.
All of the churches and chapels built by Sanmicheli have the feature of presenting a central plan or at least forming part of structures with centralized space.[65] This predilection of the architect probably refers back to his study of 15th-century religious buildings, which presented the same characteristics.
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