Battista Antonelli
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Battista Antonelli (or Bautista) (1547–1616) was a military engineer from a prestigious
Habsburg monarchs of Austria and Spain. He is credited with designing fortresses in Spanish colonial cities in the Caribbean, including Cartagena de Indias in Colombia, Havana in Cuba, and San Juan Bautista in Puerto Rico
.
Biography
Antonelli was born in
Rey Don Felipe
(later called Port Famine), without any fortifications. Antonelli returned to Spain, ill and disillusioned.
He was convinced, however, to take a second commission in 1586 to build fortifications for the city of San Felipe de Barajas Castle
, the San Sebastián de Pastelillo Fort and the San Fernando Fort.
Antonelli then sailed for
Castillo de los Tres Reyes del Morro. From there he returned to Spain. On his second voyage in 1558, he landed in Puerto Rico, designing Castillo San Felipe del Morro in Old San Juan
.
After several more journeys to the Caribbean, Antonelli settled in Spain, working on fortresses in Gibraltar and in other places. He died in Spain in 1616 after having one of the most illustrious careers in military architecture in the New World.
His brother Giovanni Battista Antonelli was also a military engineer, born in Italy at Gatteo in Romagna, and died in Toledo, Spain, in 1558. His most important works were a series of watchtowers along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Spain.
References
- ISBN 9789583601347.
- Anne W. Tennant (September/October 2003) "Arquitecto de las defensas del rey," Américas, pp. 6–15.
- Wilson, J. G.; Fiske, J., eds. (1900). . Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography. New York: D. Appleton.
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