FONTA'NA, DOMENI'CO, a distinguished Italian architect, was born at Mili, on the border,' of the Lake of Como, in 1543. Having a decided taste for mathematical studies, at the age of twenty he went to join his elder brother Giovanni, an architect, at Rome. Hero he attracted the notice and obtained the favour of Cardinal Montalto, who confided to him tho erection of the Cappella del I'rcsepio, or Sistine, in Santa Maria Maggiore, a design of great nobleness and grandeur, although, according to modern taste, too overcharged in its ornaments, and too much cut up by the injudicious arrangement of the gilding and coloured marbles. By the same ecclesiastic he was employed to build for him, in the vicinity of the above-mentioned church, the palace now known by the name of the Villa Negroid. This edifice which, partly on account of its gardens, was for a long while one of the most celebrated mansion. In Rome, is, like most of the architect's other desigue of the same class, exceedingly simple in its composition, and has little decoration beyond what it derives from the dressings and pediments of the windows, which latter are alternately angular and curved. Yet favourable as these undertakioge were in themselves, they were not productive of much immediate profit to the architect, aud were even injurious to his patron, as they afforded the pope (Gregory XIII.) a pretext for suppressing the pensions of the cardinal, since he was wealthy enough to indulge in such magnificence. On this, out of his attachment to the cardinal and his eagerness to oomplete the Cappella del Preaepio, Fontana generously contributed a thousand ecudi of his own, rather than see the scheme abandoned. To his disinterestedness on this occasion he was in all probability not a little Indebted for his subsequent good fortune, as the cardinal was shortly afterwards elected to the pontifical throne under the well-known name of Sisto Quinto. The new pope had now the means of indulging his taste for architecture and embellishment, and one of his projects was to re-erect the various Egyptian obelisks which lay scattered and neglected among the ruined fabrics of the ancient city. The first to
which the pope directed his attention was that which still remained standing iu the Vatican circus. This he was anxious to have removed to the area hi front of St. Peter's; but the practicability of transporting such an euonnuus mass (63 feet 2 inches high), and elevating it upon a pedestal, was lung doubtful, although the ablest mathematicians and engineers were summoned to suggest the means. Upwards of five hundred different projects and models were submitted to him, nor did Fontana fail to come forward among the competitors, and he gave satisfactory proof of his contrivance by applying it to a small obelisk in the matmolCum of Augustus. Eventually the carrying it into execution was intrusted to Fontana, although it bad been in the first instance determined that Oiacomo della Porta and Ammanati should take charge of the operations. A circumstantial account of all the proceedings attending this very arduous enterprise was published by the architect himself, under the title of 'Del modo tenuto nel trasportare l'Obelieco Vatic:alio.' The operations commenced April 30th 1586, sod the obelisk was removed and placed on the now pedestal prepared for it on the 13th of the following June, when was successfully accomplished the most stupendous trial of mechanical skill that age had then witnessed, although since several times rivalled. The complete success of this task gained the architect not only honours and distinction, but a pension of 2000 scudi, and also gave him assur ance of an equally favourable result in all similar undertakings. To these belong the three obelisks he afterwards erected In the Piazza del Popolo, before St Giovanni Letterer)°, and in front of Santa Maria Maggiore. The second of these la still larger than the first-mentioned, being 105 feet 7 Inches high, independently of the pedestal, and its weight calculated at about 440 tons.