Domenico Fontana – architect

Swiss designer who built the Royal Palace in Naples

The Royal Palace in Piazza del Plebiscito was
designed by Fontana in his role as Royal Engineer

Domenico Fontana, an architect working during the late Renaissance, died on this day in 1607 in Naples. Although he had a long career working for the papacy in Rome, Fontana was employed by the Spanish Viceroy of Naples toward the end of his life and he built the Royal Palace in Naples.

His work in Naples led to the rediscovery of Pompeii, when a crew working for him building canals became the first to confirm the location of the ancient city.

Fontana was born in Melide, a municipality in the district of Lugano in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland.

He went to Rome in 1563 to join his older brother and began a career as a plasterer, moving on to become a mason and master builder, showing particular expertise with measuring and good technical skills. After moving to Rome, just before Michelangelo's death, Fontana was able to study the works of both ancient and modern masters of design.

Fontana’s first architectural project was to design a villa for Cardinal Montalto, who later became Pope Sixtus V. He was then commissioned to design a Cappella del Presepio, a chapel of the crib, for the Church of Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome. This was a powerful domed building over a Greek cross.

He then constructed the Palazzo Montalto near Santa Maria Maggiore and later, when Cardinal Montalto became Pope, he was appointed as the official papal architect.

Domenico Fontana was born in
the Swiss canton of Ticino 

Fontana designed the Vatican Library, made alterations to Basilica San Giovanni in Laterano and rebuilt the Lateran Palace, on the site of the former medieval palace. 

He also worked with Giacomo della Porta on the completion of St Peter’s dome, with them both referring to Michelangelo’s model that the great architect had left behind him. 

His most famous undertaking was the removal of the 320-ton Egyptian obelisk, which had been brought to Rome in the first century. He moved it from its location near the Vatican and re-erected it in St Peter’s Square in front of the basilica in 1586. This was said to have taken the concerted effort of 800 men, 160 horses, and countless pulleys and metres of rope, and was a feat of engineering that astonished his contemporaries.

It also demonstrated his mastery of statics, the branch of classical mechanics that is concerned with the analysis of force and torque (the rotational equivalent of linear force), acting on a physical system that does not experience an acceleration, but rather is in equilibrium with its environment. . 

But, after later being accused of misappropriating public money, Fontana was dismissed from his post in 1592 by Pope Clement VIII, who was the fourth pope to come after the death of Pope Sixtus V in 1590. 

Fontana went to live in Naples where he became Royal Engineer at the court of the Spanish Viceroy and he was responsible for building the Royal Palace in Piazza del Plebiscito, which commenced in 1600.

Later, during work he was overseeing to construct a canal linking the River Sarno with some mills in Torre Annunziata, his workmen were the first to find some remains of Pompeii. At the time, the importance of this discovery was not fully understood and the ancient city of Pompeii in Campania was not rediscovered until 150 years later.

Domenico Fontana was the first Ticinese architect to gain major recognition in Roman architecture, establishing a lineage of Ticinese builders who dominated the Roman scene for nearly two centuries afterwards and contributed significantly to the construction of baroque Rome alongside architects such as Carlo Maderno and Francesco Borromini.

Fontana's legacy is marked by his architectural innovation and his pivotal role in shaping Renaissance and Baroque Rome and Naples. 

Michelangelo's Dome of St Peter's is one of the
most familiar landmarks on the Rome skyline

Travel tip:

Michelangelo's dome, which Domenico Fontana helped to complete, is one of the dominant features of the Rome skyline.  Situated next to the Tiber, St Peter's is the largest Christian church in the world, covering 5.7 acres with a capacity to accommodate 60,000 people, with room for a further 400,000 in the square outside.  The dome itself rises to a height of 136.57 metres (448.1 feet) from the floor of the basilica to the top of the external cross. The Egyptian obelisk in the square, which Fontana erected, rises to 40m (132 ft), and was placed at or near the spot where St Peter was believed to have been crucified by the Romans in 64 AD. The construction of St Peter’s Basilica took 120 years, from the laying of the foundation stone in April 1506 under Pope Julius II to its formal dedication in November 1626 by Pope Urban VIII. The project spanned the reigns of 21 popes and  was led by eight different chief architects. In addition to Michelangelo, other key figures in shaping the design included Donato Bramante, who created the initial layout, Carlo Maderno, who completed the main façade, and Gian Lorenzo Bernini, who left a considerable imprint on both the vast interior and St Peter’s Square.

Hotels in Naples from Expedia

The Throne Room inside the Royal Palace, in
which 30 rooms are open to the public

Travel tip:

The Royal Palace (Palazzo Reale) in Naples, which was designed by Domenico Fontana near the end of his life, was once one of the magnificent residences of the Kings of Naples. The palace is at the eastern end of Piazza del Plebiscito and dates back to 1600, when building commenced using Domenico Fontana’s design. It now houses a 30-room museum and has the largest library in southern Italy, which are both open to the public to look round.  The palace was originally commissioned to host King Philip III of Spain. Though the monarch never actually visited, the building became the seat of Spanish, Austrian, and eventually Bourbon power in the region. From 1734, King Charles of Bourbon and his successors expanded the palace, transforming its interior into a showcase of Baroque and Neoclassical opulence. During the Napoleonic era, rulers such as Joachim Murat further embellished the estate with refined Neoclassical decor. After Italian Unification in 1861, the House of Savoy took ownership, eventually opening the palace to the public in 1919.

Find accommodation in Naples with Hotels.com

More reading: 

Giovanni Antonio Medrano, the Sicilian who designed Teatro di San Carlo

Luigi Vanvitelli, Neapolitan genius behind Royal Palace at Caserta

Why the Bourbons executed Joachim Murat, the flamboyant Neapolitan King of Naples

Also on this day:

1503: The birth of Giovanni della Casa, author of manual on etiquette

1909: The birth of politician and partisan Walter Audisio

1952: The birth of athlete Pietro Mennea

1971: The birth of footballer Lorenzo Amoruso 

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