Clérigos Tower
One of the most famous people in Portugal who made a significant contribution to the architectural appearance of Porto was Nicolo Nazoni.
The artist and architect of Italian origin was born on June 2, 1691 in Tuscany and died on August 30, 1773 in Porto, being buried in one of his most iconic buildings - the Clerigos Church.
A pupil of the artist Giuseppe Nazini, Nazoni began his artistic career in the city of Siena. During his training, he mainly worked on commissions of so-called "ephemeral art", creating and decorating triumphal arches, allegorical chariots, etc. Nicolo Nazoni studied architecture in the workshop of Francini and Vicenzo Ferrati.
After his internship in Siena, Nazoni goes to Rome. And the next stage was the island of Malta. In 1723, he was commissioned by the Grand Master of the Masonic Lodge, António Manuel de Villena, to decorate the back rooms of the Palace of the Grand Masters in La Valetta. Here he met Roque de Tavora y Noronha, brother of the Bishop of the main Cathedral in Porto, thus receiving an order to renovate and decorate this Cathedral. In 1725, the architect finally settled in the Porto. After finishing the interior decoration of the Cathedral, the Italian architect paints the vaults in the main Cathedral of Lamego, as well as the ceilings in the Freixo Palace in Porto.
The Palace of Freixo in Porto.
The interior of the Palace. Working in the Baroque style, he created a number of architectural masterpieces that adorn the city of Porto. His first and most emblematic creation is the Clerigos tower, recognized as an iconic symbol of the Baroque architectural style in the Northern capital of Portugal. Subsequently, the Italian architect worked on the restoration of the Church of Santa Marinha in Vila Nova de Gaia and the reconstruction of the Church of Mercy in Porto.
It also left a significant mark on the civil architecture of that time.
The style of this famous Italian architect was inspired by the architecture of Tuscany and Rome; his decorative Baroque strongly influenced Portuguese artists and architects of the time. In addition to architectural and artistic projects, Nicolo Nazoni made many drawings to create jewelry and sculpture compositions.