Ferdinando Fuga
Ferdinando Fuga (11 November 1699 – 7 February 1782)[1] was an Italian architect who was born in Florence, and is known for his work in Rome and Naples. Much of his early work was in Rome, notably, the Palazzo della Consulta (1732–7) at the Quirinal, the Palazzo Corsini (1736–54), the façade of the Santa Maria Maggiore (1741–3), and the Church of Sant'Apollinare (1742–8).[2] He later moved to Naples and notably designed the Albergo de'Poveri (an enormous work-house) (1751–81), the façade of the Church of the Gerolamini, and that of the Palazzo Giordano (both c.1780,).[3]
Ferdinando Fuga
11 November 1699
7 February 1782 (aged 82)
Architect
New façade of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore
Early work[edit]
After studying under Giovanni Battista Foggini, Fuga settled in Rome in 1718.[4] Throughout the 1720s he worked on three projects: submitting a design for the Trevi Fountain in 1723, and 2 designs for façades for the churches San Giovanni in Laterano, 1723, and Santa Maria sopra Minerva, 1725. In 1730, after a brief stay in Naples, Fuga was commissioned by Pope Clement XII to design his family home Palazzo Corsini, Rome and then later to build the Coffee House of the Quirinal Palace as a reception room for Benedict XIV Lambertini.[5]
His first significant work was in Naples. He was commissioned to design the richly decorated chapel of the Palazzo Cellamare, as well as its rusticated gate to the gardens with a scrolling pediment and a sculptured cartouche of arms, (1726—1727); Fuga's patron was the infamous ambassador, Antonio del Giudice, Prince of Cellamare. Fuga also travelled to Palermo in 1729–1730 in connection with a projected bridge over the Milicia.