An Unpublished Mannerist Architecture by Gian Giacomo Palearo Fratino. The Church of Purísima Concepción in Melilla (1579-1608) ; Una arquitectura manierista inédita de Gian Giacomo Palearo Fratino. La iglesia de la Purísima Concepción de Melilla (1579-1608)

Abstract

It is not usual to be able to document in detail a mannerist temple which, until now, has not been sufficiently studied and whose origins were unknown. The Spanish expansion in the Mediterranean allowed many Italian engineers to take part in building walls and cities, and both Emperor Charles V and his son, King Philip II, counted on these engineers' experience and knowledge.Melilla is one of the North African cities with an intense presence of Italian engineers. This city would be the place where, a new temple commissioned by Philip II, would be erected by the end of the 16th century. The person in charge of designing the temple would be the King's engineer Giacomo Palearo Fratino. It is important to point out that these engineers mainly built walls, bastions and defence towers. They are outstanding designs as the one we have mentinoned before, which is also is Fratino's only known church.The clear Italian origins of the temple still prevail nowdays since most of its structure survives despite the Baroque enlargements. This might be the reason why there are some references to 16th century Italian treatises, mostly to Giacomo Barozzi Vignola or Sebastiano Serlio. These references are made evident, not only in the design of the façades and the inner arches but also in the mathematical proportions used in the construction of the temple, where the Golden Rectangle is not absent.Un'inedita architettura manierista di Gian Giacomo Palearo Fratino. La Chiesa della Purísima Concepción di Melilla (1579-1608)A seguito dell´espansione spagnola lungo il Mediterraneo, l´imperatore Carlo V e poi suo figlio, Filippo ll, si rivolsero a ingegneri italiani per la realizzazione di mura e città, affidandosi alla loro esperienza e conoscenza. Una delle città nordafricane con un´intensa presenza di ingegneri italiani fu Melilla. Qui, alla fine del XVI secolo fu eretta una chiesa per volontà di Filippo ll, fino a oggi poco studiata e di cui non si conosceva l'attribuzione. Le ricerche svolte hanno potuto individuare il nome del ...