Giovanni Maria Bernardoni

Giovanni Maria Bernardoni
Bust of Bernardoni in Old Nesvizh Park
Born	1541 Cagno, Italy
Died	1605 (aged 63–64) Krakow, Poland
Nationality	Italian
Occupation	Architect
Buildings	Church of St. Peter & Paul in Krakow, Church of Corpus Christi in Nesvizh, Monastery of St. Bernardin in Kalwaria Zebrzydowska

Giovanni Maria Bernardoni (1541–1605) was a Jesuit monk and an Italian architect who was the first to design the Baroque style in Poland and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.

Giovanni Maria Bernardoni was born in northern Italy in the commune of Cagno in 1541. He worked as a mason until he was 23 years old upon which he left for Rome to join the Order of the Jesuits and become an architect. The Order directed him towards the construction of their main church in Rome, the Church of the Gesù, where he worked for 6 years. The construction was under the supervision of the famous Italian architect and the inspector of the Order's construction projects, John Tristan.

Starting in 1573, Bernardoni worked on the construction of churches in Milan, Florence, Naples, and Abruzzo. The Chief Vicar of the Province Bernardoni was in at the time wrote about him to the Superior General of the Society of Jesus saying: "We are happy that God has gladdened us by giving us this master who was essential in helping Father Giovanni".

Later, he goes on to work in Sardinia, specifically Cagliari, where he founds the Church of St. Michael towards the end of 1578.

In 1583, by command of the head of the Jesuit Order, Bernardoni was sent to the Grand Duchy of Lithuania where Prince Nicholas Radziwill had already been asking for an architect for a long time. However, he wasn't able to make it to his new assignment since on the way there, Bernardoni was taken in Lublin by the rector of the Gdańsk Jesuit College, Christopher Varshevitski who was very influential in Poland. In Lublin, Bernardoni worked for 3 years doing projects for the Lublin College and churches in Poznań, Kalisz, and a restoration after a fire in the Bridgettines convent in Gdańsk.