17. century
Francesco Caratti
Architect during the era of Monumental Baroque
Significant photo
Photogallery
Description
He started his architectural apprenticeship in northern Italy and continued it in Vienna. In 1652 he started working for prominent aristocratic families in the Czech lands. He completed the vast palace of the Michna family in the Lesser Quarter, but his most significant piece of work in Prague was for the Czernin family, for whom he designed their monumental residence in the Hradcany District in 1668.
He worked for the family until his death. He became the representative of Baroque Monumentalism, which was however not followed by anyone else in the Prague milieu. Caratti is also the author of a major sacred edifice, the Dominican St Mary Magdalena Church in the Lesser Quarter, which displays an innovative layout with a central lengthwise structure and an irregular dome over the crossing.
