Costante Tencalla

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Side view of Lugano Cathedral
Władysław's Tower in the Royal Castle of Warsaw, rebuilt by Tencalla between 1637 and 1643

Costante Tencalla (1593, Bissone[1] - 1646, Warsaw[2]) was a Swiss-Italian architect and sculptor.[3] He was a nephew of Matteo Castelli, brother of Jacopo Tencalla and also a relative, student, and colleague of Carlo Maderno, who is remembered as one of the fathers of Baroque architecture.[4]

Life

He trained in Rome[5][6][7] and spent his early working life there before going to Poland with his uncle Matteo Castelli, who became Poland's first royal architect.[8] On Castelli's death he moved back to Italy to work on buildings in Bissone and Lugano.[9] He then returned to Warsaw as architect to Władysław IV Vasa,[10] who commissioned important buildings from him in Warsaw, Kraków, Leopoli, Gniezno, and Vilnius (Grand Duchy of Lithuania).[11][12][13]

References

  1. (in Italian) Giorgio Mollisi, 'I Tencalla di Bissone. Una grande famiglia di artisti di livello europeo', in Giorgio Mollisi (ed.), Bissone terra di artisti, in Arte&Storia, anno 8, numero 41, Lugano dicembre 2008, 80-83.
  2. (in Italian) Mariusz Karpowicz, 'Costante Tencalla', in Artisti ticinesi in Polonia nella prima metà del Seicento, Lugano 2002, 135-153.
  3. (in Italian) Ivano Proserpi, I Tencalla di Bissone, Collana artisti dei Laghi. Itinerari europei, Fidia edizioni d'arte, Lugano 1999, 46-75.
  4. "Virš Valdovų rūmų vartų auksu ir sidabru sušvito Vytis". Aidas.lt (in Lithuanian). Retrieved 17 June 2026.
  5. H. Hibbard, Carlo Maderno and roman architecture 1580-1630, London 1971.
  6. (in Italian) M. Beltrame, 'Il priogetto di Carlo Maderno per la facciata e la üpiazza di San Pietro in Roma', in Giulio Carlo Argan (ed.), Storia dell'arte, 56, 31-47
  7. Račiūnaitė, Tojana (4 October 2020). "St. Teresa's Church in Vilnius: Adaptation of a Baroque Model". LDKistorija.lt. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  8. Mariusz Karpowicz, Baroque in Poland, Varsavia 1991.
  9. (in Italian) Ivano Proserpi, Notizie storiche riguardanti l'oratorio di San Rocco a Bissone. Regesto, (dattiloscritto reperibile presso l'archivio parrocchiale), 1989.
  10. (in Italian) Mariusz Karpowicz, Artisiti ticinesi in Polonia nel '600, Bellinzona 1983, 73, 81, 84, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 98, 103., 104, 107, 126.
  11. (in Italian) Mariusz Karpowicz, Artisti ticinesi in Polonia nella prima metà del Seicento, Edizioni Ticino Management S. A., Lugano 2002, 135-153.
  12. A. Milobedzki, 'Costante Tencalla', (ad vocem), in The dictionary of art, volume XXX, New York 1996, 453-454.
  13. Mariusz Karpowicz, Matteo Castello architekt wczesnego baroku, Varsavia 1994.