Giuliano da Sangallo

Lore & Background

Giuliano da Sangallo (né Giuliano Giamberti) was born c. 1445 in Florence. His father, Francesco Giamberti, was a woodworker and an architect who worked closely with Cosimo de' Medici. As a child, Giuliano became an apprentice to a joiner, and his skills drew the attention of Lorenzo de' Medici. He studied the works of ancient architects as well as Leon Battista Alberti and Filippo Brunelleschi. His first major independent commission came from the Medici family: building military fortifications and managing artillery in Castellina against an invasion led by the Duke of Calabria, which he successfully repelled.

After that victory, Lorenzo commissioned Giuliano to design a villa in Poggio a Caiano, construction beginning in 1485. In 1484, a child in Prato claimed to have seen a painting of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus come to life on a jail wall; Lorenzo hired Giuliano to build Santa Maria delle Carceri on that site. In 1488, Lorenzo sent Giuliano to Naples to design a castle for King Ferrante of Aragon, though the castle was never built. While there, the Duke of Calabria also requested a palace design, but Lorenzo sent Giuliano da Maiano for that task. Giorgio Vasari falsely attributes the Duke of Calabria's palace to Giuliano da Sangallo. After Naples, the Bishop of Ostia (later Pope Julius II) hired Giuliano to re-fortify his castle in Ostia, working alongside Baccio Pontelli; inscriptions date the renovation to 1484, before the Naples work.

Returning to Florence, Lorenzo commissioned Giuliano to build the Church of San Gallo for Augustinian monks, construction beginning in 1488. According to Vasari, Lorenzo loved the design so much that he began calling Giuliano 'Giuliano da San Gallo,' and the name stuck. The church was destroyed during the 1529 Siege of Florence. Around the same time, Giuliano was commissioned by merchant Giuliano Gondi to build Palazzo Gondi in Florence, which remained unfinished in his lifetime. After Lorenzo's death in 1492 and the French invasion of Florence in 1494, Giuliano went into exile. The Bishop of Ostia (Giuliano della Rovere), also in exile, convinced Sangallo to design a palace in Savona for him.

Reader's Guide

Giuliano da Sangallo's significance lies in his role as the favoured architect of Lorenzo de' Medici, through whom he produced several key works of the Italian Renaissance. His design for the Medici Villa at Poggio a Caiano is one of the oldest examples of Renaissance-style country villas and inspired many future architects. His use of a Greek cross plan for Santa Maria delle Carceri revived a classical layout not extensively used in the Renaissance before that point. Sangallo's work also extended to military engineering, successfully defending Castellina against the Duke of Calabria. He influenced major figures including Raphael, Leonardo da Vinci, his brother Antonio da Sangallo the Elder, and his sons Antonio da Sangallo the Younger and Francesco da Sangallo. His legacy is complicated by unfinished projects—such as the villa, the church in Prato, and Palazzo Gondi—and by the destruction of the Church of San Gallo. Vasari's accounts, while valuable, contain some inaccuracies, such as misattributing the Duke of Calabria's palace to Sangallo.

Did You Know?

• Giuliano da Sangallo's original surname was Giamberti; he adopted 'Sangallo' after Lorenzo de' Medici admired his design for the Church of San Gallo.
• The Church of Santa Maria delle Carceri was built on the site of a public jail where a child claimed to have seen a painting of the Virgin Mary and infant Jesus come to life.
• Giuliano successfully defended the town of Castellina against an invasion led by the Duke of Calabria by building fortifications and managing artillery.
• The Medici Villa at Poggio a Caiano remained largely unfinished during Lorenzo de' Medici's life; his son, Pope Leo X, oversaw its completion.