Giovanni Battista Aleotti

Italian architect. He designed several churches in Ferrara, including Santa Barbara (1586–8), and Santa Maria del Quartiere (1604–19) in Parma, a curious composition with an exterior built up in layers like a pagoda. He restored numerous buildings in Ferrara damaged in the earthquakes of 1570, including the castle, the Palazzo del Regione, and the Palazzo del Paradiso (which housed the University from 1586 to 1962). His most imposing work of military architecture was the fortress in Ferrara. His masterpiece was the Teatro Farnese in Parma (1617–19—damaged 1944, and restored 1960–2), in which he combined a U-shaped auditorium with architectural elements derived from the works of Palladio and Scamozzi: it was the largest and most sumptuous theatre erected up to that time.

Bibliography

• Il Carrobbio, ix (1983), 197–208, and xi (1985), 114–21
• Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, xxi/3 (Oct. 1962), 116–28
• Magagnato (1954)

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