Fanzago, Cosimo

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Fanzago, Cosimo (1591–1678). Born in Clusone, near Bergamo, he became the most important exponent of Baroque architecture in Naples from 1612, especially in his designs for altars. He created a series of exuberant façades for existing churches, notably the Certosa di San Martino (1623–56), with its triumphal arch, Santa Maria della Sapienza (1638–53), with its triple-arched loggia, and San Giuseppe degli Scalzi at Pontecorvo (1643–60). His huge unfinished but very original Palazzo Donn'Anna, Posilipo, near Naples (1642–4), is a gigantic belvedere of three stories of loggie, and has bevelled corners. His elaborate Guglia di San Gennaro monument (1637–60) is typical of his confidently triumphalist style.

Bibliography

Blunt (1975);
Fogaccia (1945);
Winther (1973);
Wittkower (1982)

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