Francesco Sabatini

Francesco Sabatini (Palermo, 1721-Madrid, December 19, 1797) was an Italian architect who spent most of his professional career in Spain at the service of the Royal House.

His style, which has been described as "cosmopolitan classicist baroque" and which responds to his apprenticeship in Rome with Ferdinando Fuga and Luigi Vanvitelli, is identifiable with the transition between baroque and neoclassical architecture. It has a strong classicist component that, despite his interest in the study of Roman ruins, is closer to Renaissance architecture than to the pure features of the later period (represented by Juan de Villanueva).

Biography

A native of Palermo (in the Kingdom of Sicily), son of Erasmo Antonio Sabatini (a native of Gaeta) and Maria Teresa Giuliani (a native of Palermo), he studied Architecture in Rome. His first contacts with the Spanish monarchy dated back to his participation under the direction of his father-in-law, Luigi Vanvitelli (Sabatini married his daughter, María Cecilia, in 1764), in the construction of the Royal Palace of Caserta for the King of Naples., Carlos VII, the future King Carlos III of Spain. Between 1745 and 1750 he surveyed the ruins and temples of Paestum in the archaeological research project directed by Count Gazzola.

In 1755, as an artillery officer, he began working with Vanvitelli in an artillery barracks next to the Magdalena Bridge (Naples).

When Carlos III ascended the Spanish throne, he called him to Madrid in 1760 and elevated him above the most prominent Spanish architects of the time. He was named senior master of the Royal Works, with the rank of lieutenant colonel of the Corps of Engineers, while he was designated as an honorary academic of the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts. Most of his work in the service of the king involved expansion and remodeling of existing buildings, such as the Royal Palace of Madrid.

Most of his newly built works are located in Madrid, with the exception of the churches of Santa Ana in Valladolid and San Pascual in Aranjuez.

His talent as an architect and the king's favor with him brought him numerous jobs and commissions. His professional career was repeatedly rewarded. He was promoted to lieutenant general of the Corps of Engineers, he was given the habit of a knight of the Order of Santiago, and he had direct access to the king's circle of trust after his appointment as gentleman of the chamber.

He had four children: Luis María, Ana María (Mariana), María Teresa and Luis Jaime. He was survived only by his two daughters. Ana María married Jerónimo de la Grúa, son of the Prince of Carini, while María Teresa married Antonio de Zayas, II Marqués de Zayas (one of whose descendants is Aitor Zayas, son of the singer Massiel).

He died on November 19, 1797 at his home in Madrid and was buried in a niche in the vault of the Santísimo Cristo de los Milagros in the church of San Martín, which was located in front of the Descalzas Reales monastery. In 1809 the church was demolished, and it is not known if its remains were transferred to the new church of San Martín.

Works

Real Casa de la Aduana (Madrid, 1769).

Convent of San Pascual (Aranjuez, 1770).

Puerta de San Vicente (Madrid, 1775).

Puerta de Alcalá (Madrid, 1778).

Hospital de San Carlos (Madrid, 1788), today Real Conservatorio.

Madrid

Among his numerous works, in Madrid, the following stand out:

• It replaces Sacchetti in the works of the Royal Palace of Madrid until its conclusion (1760-1764).
• Realize the Instructions for sewage, sandwiching and cleaning of the court (1761-1765) for the decentening of the city of Madrid.
• It builds the Royal Customs House on Alcalá Street (1761-1769), the current headquarters of the Ministry of Finance.
• Along with Francisco Gutiérrez, the graves of Fernando VI and Barbara de Braganza are located in the church of the Royal Salesas.
• It builds the Convent of San Pascual de Aranjuez (1765-1770).
• He directs the works of remodeling the Cuesta de San Vicente (1767-1777).
• The extension of the southeast wing of the Royal Palace (1772).
• It rebuilds the monastery of the Comndadoras de Santiago (1773).
• Project and build the Alcala Gate (1774-1778).
• Project and build the primitive layout and the Royal Gate of the Royal Botanic Garden of Madrid (1774-1781).
• Build the Gate of Saint Vincent (1775).
• It builds the House of Secretaries of State and the Office (cale de Bailén, northeast of the Royal Palace), also known as Palacio del Marqués de Grimaldi and Palacio de Godoy (1776).
• The works (which José de Hermosilla had begun during the reign of Fernando VI) of the General Hospital, a huge building in the area of Atocha, part of which today occupy the Reina Sofía Art Centre, the Conservatory and the College of Doctors (1776-1781).
• The construction of the Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great (1776-1784). His work focused on the facade, since the great dome of Francisco Cabezas and Antonio Plo had been completed in 1770.
• Project the San Gil Headquarters.
• Change the orientation of the main staircase of the Royal Palace for the wish of Charles IV.
• He participates in the reconstruction works of the Plaza Mayor after the fire of 1790, together with Juan de Villanueva.
• Various works at the Casa de Campo, including the Puente de la Culebra.

As a note of interest, it must be said that the Sabatini Gardens (located in front of the north façade of the Royal Palace of Madrid, between Calle Bailén and Cuesta de San Vicente) were not designed by him, but were created in the thirties of the XX century in the place occupied by the stables built by Sabatini for palace service.

Out of Court

Out of court:

• El Convento de las Comendadoras de Santiago de Granada (1773).
• The altarpiece of the Virgin of Peace or altarpiece of the main altar of the cathedral of Segovia, in the last third of the centuryXVIII (now completed in 1775).
• The Royal Toledo Arms Factory (1780).
• The Chapel of the Immaculate in the Cathedral of the Burgo de Osma, also called Palafox (1782).
• The Royal Monastery of San Joaquín and Santa Ana de Valladolid (1787).
• The barracks of the Valona Guard in the town of Leganés (now part of the Carlos III University of Madrid).
• Rehabilitation of the channel of the Casa de la Moneda de Segovia