Giacomo del Duca facts for kids
Giacomo Del Duca (born around 1520, died 1604) was a talented Italian sculptor and architect. He lived during a time called the late-Renaissance and Mannerist periods. He is best known for working with the famous artist Michelangelo on several big projects in Rome.
One of his most important jobs was helping with the tomb of Pope Julius II. This tomb was built in the church of San Pietro in Vincoli. Giacomo also helped change Michelangelo's designs for buildings on the Capitoline Hill. This hill is one of the most famous and highest of the seven hills in Rome.
Early Life and Career
Giacomo del Duca was also known as Jacobo Siciliano or Jacopo Del Duca. He was born in Cefalù, a town in Sicily, Italy. Sicily is a large island south of mainland Italy.
Giacomo worked on many important buildings and sculptures in Rome. Some of his projects include:
- Helping decorate the Porta Pia (a gate in Rome) in 1562.
- Building the Palazzo Cornaro for a cardinal named Alvise Cornaro. A cardinal is a high-ranking official in the Catholic Church.
- Constructing the Villa Mattei al Celio, a large country house.
- Finishing parts of the church of Santa Maria di Loreto between 1573 and 1576.
- Helping design the church of Santa Maria in Trivio in 1575.
- Helping sculpt the tomb of Elena Savelli in 1570. This tomb is in the church of San Giovanni in Laterano.
Return to Sicily
In 1588, Giacomo Del Duca moved back to his home island of Sicily. He settled in the city of Messina. There, he continued to create many buildings in the Mannerist style. Some of these include the church of San Giovanni dei Gerolamini and the Loggia dei Mercanti. The Loggia dei Mercanti was a building where merchants (traders) would meet.
Giacomo Del Duca passed away in Messina in 1604.
In Popular Culture
Jacopo del Duca is a character in a novel called Bomarzo by Manuel Mujica Láinez. This book is about the Orsini family and their famous park filled with strange sculptures, known as the Park of the Monsters.
