Carlo Fontana. Principe dell’Accademia

During his time, Carlo Fontana was regarded as the architect of reference in the Roman and international art scene. The collection of the diplomas that he received from the leading European rulers was clear evidence of this. Now these titles are still bound in a volume kept in the archives of the Accademia. Fontana counted on the help of many collaborators, who worked in his atelier according to a “business” logic, in order to execute a very large number of professional commissions, but, in the opinion of some critics, the division of tasks and the normalization of drawing caused a gradual separation from the creative freedom of the Baroque derived from Bernini or Borromini. However, it is necessary to note that the resulting design seriality favoured the realization of high quality urban projects. Fontana tried to codify a formula aiming at creating a widespread elegance, which was taken as a model for the construction of the new European capital cities during the eighteenth century. On the basis of these assumptions, the judgment on Fontana’s design and graphic work has always been a ground of critical clash. This conflict of opinions is rediscussed in the following contributions contained in this volume. Thus the reader will be able to form a personal opinion about the contrasting positions of the various speakers on the centrality of the figure of Carlo Fontana in the history of the European Baroque architecture. The book testifies to the heated and stimulating debate that developed during the conference organized on the occasion of the three-hundredth anniversary of his death at the seat of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome from 22 to 24 October 2014. This volume, whose title repeats that of the conference (Carlo Fontana 1638-1714 Celebrato architetto), contains the most recent researches on Fontana’s work, which unfolded with skill in different fields of the profession: from civil, religious and military architecture to urban and territorial infrastructures. Therefore the publication is divided into twelve parts. After the first, dedicated to the synthesis of Fontana’s work, the rest of the book analyses issues relating to the biography, scenography, his works in Rome and outside Rome, his travels, the dissemination of his works through printing, technical and hydraulic knowledge, precepts and relationship with his numerous pupils. The book also takes account of the property and family affairs of the whole Fontana clan and tries to update the complex and intricate family genealogy. Obviously, the Ticinese origin of the architect pervades some of the essays and continually resurfaces. It is clear from the reading of the contributions that Fontana played a fundamental role in the diffusion of new building types suitable for a rapidly changing society. Fontana was also the forerunner of a new approach to history and restoration. The proceedings of the conference are dedicated to Hellmut Hager, recently died and the most important scholar of the Ticinese architect’s work.