Filippo Terzi and 16th-Century Architecture in Italy and Portugal: Research Traditions and New Perspectives

Filippo Terzi (1520-1597) was born in Bologna but grew up in Pesaro. Here goldsmiths and watchmakers, as his father, prospered, and mathematical studies were cultivated. Architect at the court of the Della Rovere, a lively centre of the Sixteenth century Italian culture, he agreed in 1576 the invitation of King Sebastian to work to Portugal and was hereafter favoured by Philip II. The history of Portuguese architecture from the late nineteenth awarded him an essential role, and we might think his role was likewise eminent as a link with the Italian culture during the last quarter of sixteenth century. The political affinity between the two countries in the 1930’s stimulated studies on the Italian front, bringing out important documents but also left an ambiguous legacy: we need to debunk it, groped to reconstruct that moment. The catalogue of his work remained uncertain and not established on unambiguous documents, neither in Italy nor in Portugal. Even a manuscript acquired in 1989 by the Portuguese National Library, bears his name but cannot be ascribed to him, as this article shows. Perhaps this uncertainty has discouraged scholars in Italy, while the culture of Pesaro and Urbino in the second half of sixteenth century, even the scientific one, is now fully reevaluated. In Portugal, the studies on the same period have been more intense and have gradually brought more convincing interpretation models. The stereotypical view of the Renaissance, irradiated from the Italian centre, has undergone a substantial revision: after the half of sixteenth century, the Renaissance has long been a shared culture, a shared vision of social and professional elites, it grows among intense exchanges on European scale. The Terzi’s institutional role has become an essential key to recognizing his work. As coordinator of the major projects of the Kingdom, he is measured by the complex mechanisms and the numerous and authoritative opinions that characterize the decision processes of the Spanish monarchy, of which Portugal is a part between 1580 and 1641. Since he manages - with varying degrees of influence - the transition between design and realization, his experience of the Italian building yards has to deal with different Portuguese building tradition, particularly with the stone construction and stereotomy. This front, little explored, appears the most promising for future studies.