Joaquín Toesca
Encyclopedia
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
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...
who worked for the king and governors of the Spanish Empire
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
, especially in colonial Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
Son of Giuseppe Toesca and Maria Ricci, he started his architecture studies while in the Italian army, in the workshop of Francesco Sabatini
Francesco Sabatini
Francesco Sabatini , also known as Francisco Sabatini, was an Italian architect of the 18th century who worked in Spain.-Biography:Born in Palermo, he studied architecture in Rome...
. He traveled with Sabatini to the Spanish court in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, and also studied 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...
in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. In 1782 Toesca was married to Manuela Fernández de Rebolledo, a colorful and scandalous Chilean woman who became involved with one of Toesca's students. After she attempted to assassinate Toesca via poisoned asparagus
Asparagus
Asparagus officinalis is a spring vegetable, a flowering perennialplant species in the genus Asparagus. It was once classified in the lily family, like its Allium cousins, onions and garlic, but the Liliaceae have been split and the onion-like plants are now in the family Amaryllidaceae and...
, she was put in a convent - from which she regularly escaped.
Chilean architecture
In 1780 he traveled to South America, to SantiagoSantiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
in the colonial Captaincy General of Chile at the request of the Royal Governor
Royal Governor of Chile
The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known as the Kingdom of Chile. This district was also called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General...
Agustín de Jáuregui
Agustín de Jáuregui
Agustín de Jáuregui y Aldecoa was a Spanish politician and soldier who served as governor of Chile and viceroy of Peru .-Early life:...
and the Archbishop
Archbishop
An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...
Santiago Manuel de Alday y Aspée
Santiago Manuel de Alday y Aspée
Santiago Manuel de Alday y Aspée was a Chilean Roman Catholic priest. He served as Bishop of Santiago from 1755 to 1788...
, who engaged him to design the Catedral de Santiago de Chile
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Santiago de Chile is part of the Roman Catholic Church in Chile. The current Archbishop is Ricardo Ezzati Andrello...
(present day Santiago Metropolitan Cathedral). In addition to this project he was also occupied in developing the plans for the Palacio de la Moneda
Palacio de La Moneda
Palacio de La Moneda , or simply La Moneda, is the seat of the President of the Republic of Chile. It also houses the offices of three cabinet ministers: Interior, General Secretariat of the Presidency and General Secretariat of the Government...
to house the royal mint
Mint (coin)
A mint is an industrial facility which manufactures coins for currency.The history of mints correlates closely with the history of coins. One difference is that the history of the mint is usually closely tied to the political situation of an era...
, which later became Chile's presidential palace.
Joaquín Toesca y Ricci, dying in 1799, did not live to see his two major projects, the Cathedral and the Palacio, completed. However, he did finish a number of other smaller works, including: the Cabildo de Santiago (city hall) of the Santiago Cabildo
Cabildo (council)
For a discussion of the contemporary Spanish and Latin American cabildo, see Ayuntamiento.A cabildo or ayuntamiento was a former Spanish, colonial administrative council that governed a municipality. Cabildos were sometimes appointed, sometimes elected, but were considered to be representative of...
; the Hospital San Juan de Dios; and the tajamares (levee
Levee
A levee, levée, dike , embankment, floodbank or stopbank is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels...
s) which would prove crucial in protecting the city from the floods of the Mapocho River
Mapocho River
The Mapocho River flows from the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two.-Course:...
. His designs were generally in the neoclassical style
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
of the period. His creative influence on Santiago — directly and through his many students — is notable.