Niccolò Matas

Niccolò "Nicola" Matas (6 December 1798 – 11 March 1872)[1] was an Italian architect and professor. He is best known for being the architect of the 19th century Gothic Revival façade of the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.[2][3] Matas was a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Florence (Italian: Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze).[1] He is one of the important architects in the history of the city of Florence.[1][4]

Niccolò Matas
painting by Pietro Benvenuti portraying Nicolò Matas, architect from Ancona (1798-1872) creator of the facade of the cathedral of Santa Croce in Florence
Born6 December 1798
Ancona, Marche, Papal States (now Italy)
Died11 March 1872
Florence, Tuscany, Italy
Other namesNicola Matas
EducationAcademy of Fine Arts, Rome,
Academy of Fine Arts, Venice,
Accademia di Belle Arti di Vicenza
Occupation(s)Architect, professor

Early life

Niccolò "Nicola" Matas was born on December 6. 1798 in Ancona in Marche, Papal States (now present-day Italy).[1] His family was Jewish and of Spanish descent.[1] He studied at Academy of Fine Arts, Rome (Italian: Accademia di Belle Arti di Roma); followed by study at the Academy of Fine Arts, Venice (Italian: Accademia di Belle Arti di Venezia) and the Academy of Fine Arts, Vicenza (Italian: Accademia di Belle Arti di Vicenza).

Career

In 1825, Matas moved to Florence, where he was an academic professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Florence (Italian: Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze), primarily teaching architecture.[1] His architect contemporaries in Tuscany included Gaetano Baccani, Mariano Falcini, Emilio De Fabris, and Giuseppe Poggi.[4] Matas worked closely with sculptor Giovanni Dupré of Gipsoteca Dupré.[4] He had a working relationship with Anatoly Demidov, 1st Prince of San Donato.[1]

From 1857 to 1863, he worked on the design of the façade of Basilica of Santa Croce, where he worked in a prominent Star of David into the top of the building.[5][6] The design of the building was said to be influenced by a now-lost drawing by Simone del Pollaiolo, named "il Cronaca".[5] He is also thought to have been inspired by the Siena Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Siena) and Orvieto Cathedral (Italian: Duomo di Orvieto).[7]

Matas died in Florence on 11 March 1872.[1] His body was moved in 1886, and Matas is buried under the porch at the Basilica of Santa Croce.[1][5]

There is a street named "Via Matas" in Ancona.

  • Basilica of Santa Croce
  • Santa Croce, Florence, prior to the design by Matas before 1857
    Santa Croce, Florence, prior to the design by Matas before 1857
  • Santa Croce, Florence, after the design by Matas after 1857
    Santa Croce, Florence, after the design by Matas after 1857

Works

Restorations
  • 1826, Bartolini Baldelli Palace (Italian: Palazzo Bartolini Baldelli), Florence, Tuscany, Italy, he restored the building.[8]
  • 1834, Ancona Cathedral (Italian: Cattedrale di San Ciriaco), Ancona, Marche, Italy, he restored the building and the dome with copper
  • 1836, Palazzo Della Ripa, Florence, Tuscany, Italy, he restored the building.[1]

New buildings or new portions of buildings

References
  1. Capalbi, Monica (2008). "Matas, Niccolò (Niccola, Nicola)". Treccani. Biographical Dictionary of Italians - Volume 72. Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.
  2. "Niccolò Matas". Oxford Reference. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  3. "Niccolò (Nicola) Matas". ChieraCoStui.com (in Italian).
  4. Poettinger, Monika; Roggi, Piero (2017-12-28). Florence: Capital of the Kingdom of Italy, 1865-71. Bloomsbury Publishing. pp. 50–51. ISBN 978-1-350-01399-5.
  5. Karpinski, Kate (2019-02-05). "Jewish Florence: synagogues, kosher cooking and cemeteries". The Florentine. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  6. "Notes on the Façade of the Basilica of Santa Croce". St. Francis & the Americas, ASU. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  7. Riccio, Letizia (2021-01-05). "4 chiese da visitare a Firenze | Artribune" (in Italian). Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  8. "Repertorio delle Architetture Civili di Firenze". Palazzo Bartolini Baldelli. Retrieved 2022-06-11.
  9. "Il Teatro Dovizi". Fondazione Giuseppe e Adele Baracchi Onlus. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
  10. Bacci, Mario Ettore; Battaglini, Giuseppe M.; Garfagnoli, Marino; Parigi, Mauro; Peria, Gloria; Vaccaro, Gianpiero; Zingoni, Lucia (2014). PORTOFERRAIO. Isola d'Elba (Guida turistica) (in Italian). Museum With No Frontiers, MWNF (Museum Ohne Grenzen). p. 142. ISBN 978-3-902966-06-3.
  11. Tonini, Maria Lucia (1996). I Demidoff a Firenze e in Toscana (in Italian). Florence, IT: Leo S. Olschki. p. 194. ISBN 978-88-222-4423-9.
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