Francesco Maria Richini
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...
Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
architect.
He was born 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 ,...
and trained under Lorenzo Binago
Lorenzo Binago
Lorenzo Binago was an Italian late Mannerist/early Baroque architect in Milan. He was by vocation, also a Barnabite monk.One of his pupils was the future architect Francesco Maria Richini. His major work is the influential church of Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia, begun in 1601. The bell-towers to...
. He was patronized by Cardinal Federico Borromeo
Federico Borromeo
Federico Borromeo was an Italian ecclesiastic, cardinal and archbishop of Milan.-Biography:Federico Borromeo was born in Milan as the second son of Giulio Cesare Borromeo, Count of Arona, and Margherita Trivulzio...
, Archbishop of Milan. After a stint in Rome, he became capomastro under the main architect of the Cathedral of the city, Aurelio Trezzi, in 1605. He was elevated to the latter's position himself from 1631 to 1638.
Like his famous elder cousin, Carlo Borromeo, author of a guide to religious architecture, Federico Borromeo promulgated classical or antique models. In Richini he found a deviation to the Baroque
Baroque
The Baroque is a period and the style that used exaggerated motion and clear, easily interpreted detail to produce drama, tension, exuberance, and grandeur in sculpture, painting, literature, dance, and music...
, as exemplified by his church of San Giuseppe. This small church in central Milan (consecrated 1616) has a highly decorated facade (finished 1630) with volutes. The interior are two Bramante-inspired squares. He also worked on the palazzos of Brera
Brera
Brera is a district of Milan, ItalyBrera may also refer to:* the Palazzo Brera, a historical building in Brera; the palace also houses:** the Brera Art Academy** the Brera Art Gallery** the Brera Astronomical Observatory...
(1627–8), Annoni (1631), Litta
Palazzo Litta, Milan
The Palazzo Litta, also known as the Palazzo Arese-Litta, is a Baroque structure in Milan, northern Italy, opposite San Maurizio al Monastero Maggiore, and dating from the period of Spanish rule of the city....
(1642–8), and Durini (1648). He contributed to the design of the courtyard of the Ospedale Maggiore
Ospedale Maggiore
The Ospedale Maggiore, traditionally named Ca' Granda , is a building in the center of Milan, northern Italy, constructed to house one of the first community hospitals, the largest such undertaking of the fifteenth century...
(1625-49), in collaboration with Giovan Battista Messina, Fabio Mangone
Fabio Mangone
Fabio Mangone was an Italian architect.Born in Caravaggio, he was a pupil of Alessandro Bisnati, and succeeded him as architect for the Duomo of Milan...
and Giovanni Battista Crespi
Giovanni Battista Crespi
Giovanni Battista Crespi , called Il Cerano, was an Italian painter, sculptor, and architect,-Biography:...
. He also designed the concave facade for the Collegio Elvetico. He helped in the construction of Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia
Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia
Sant'Alessandro in Zebedia is a church in Milan, Italy.Its construction for the Barnabite order began in 1601 to a design by Lorenzo Binago, Francesco Maria Richini also contributing to the project. It comprises a principal building on the Greek cross plan with a central dome, and a separate...
in Milan.
His son, Gian Domenico, was also an architect. Richini is said to have been an early influence of Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini
Francesco Borromini, byname of Francesco Castelli was an architect from Ticino who, with his contemporaries, Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Pietro da Cortona, was a leading figure in the emergence of Roman Baroque architecture.A keen student of the architecture of Michelangelo and the ruins of...
.