Tommaso Napoli

Tommaso Maria Napoli (1659 - 1725) was an Italian architect, Dominican Order monk, engineer and mathematician.

Born at Palermo, Tommaso Napoli received his training under Andrea Cirrincione as a novitiate in the Convento di San Domenico. His first architectural experience was in the construction of the church of San Domenico designed by Cirrincione. Napoli, the son of silversmith, was fervent member of the Dominican order and published at least two treatise on civil and military architecture. He travelled extensively including stays in Naples, Rome, Vienna, and Ragusa (modern Dubrovnik). He visited Vienna on numerous occasions often in service to the Imperial Court. From 1689 to 1700 he was the official architect of the Republic of Ragusa. He assisted in the ongoing reconstruction of that city after the earthquake of 1667. He made significant contributions to the construction of the new Cathedral, altering the plans made by Bufalini, and to the Rector's palace where in 1691-2 he designed the new chapel. He returned to Palermo by 1711 and served as the Military Architect of the City and later as Architect of Royal Patrimony. He brought to Sicily an understanding of the baroque architecture of the Austrian empire, especially the works of Johann Bernhard Fischer von Erlach, best known for his design of Schönbrunn Palace. However Napoli's works also have affinities with the architecture of Carlo Fontana and his contemporaries and followers in Rome especially the Accademia di San Luca.

Tommaso Maria Napoli is best known for two villas in Bagheria, Sicily, which set him apart from his Sicilian contemporaries. These villas are the Villa Valguarnera begun in 1712 for Marianna del Bosco (Princess of Cattolica), and the Villa Palagonia begun in 1715 for Ferdinando Francesco Gravina, Prince of Palagonia.

Valguarnera, built around a courtyard with long curving arms that reference both the earlier villas of Palladio and Bernini's Piazza for St. Peter's in Rome. The three storeyed main facade of the villa has a bay at its centre, in which is set an external staircase leading to the piano nobile. The balustraded roof line is adorned by statuary. The piece de resistance of the villa however, is a large terrace and parterre, also designed by Napoli, overlooking the bay and Solunto, this is considered to be the finest view in Sicily.

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