Romano, Giulio

(Giulio Pippi; c. 1499-1546)

   Italian Mannerist painter, architect, and engineer, the chief pupil of Raphael whom he assisted in the frescoes of the Villa Farnesina (1513-1518) and at the Vatican Palace. In c. 1524, Giulio went to Mantua to work for Federigo Gonzaga as his architect, painter, and engineer. He received the position at the recommendation of Baldassare Castiglione who was Federigo's agent. Giulio was charged with draining the marshes that threatened the health of the inhabitants of Mantua and with building a hydraulic system that prevented the flooding of the Rivers Po and Mincio. He also built the Palazzo del Tè (1527-1534), a suburban villa used by the Gonzaga for recreation purposes and also for Federigo's horse-breeding ventures. Giulio then frescoed the Sala dei Giganti (Room of the Giants) with his masterful rendition of the Fall of the Giants (1530-1532), painted at great speed so it would be finished in time for Emperor Charles V's visit to Mantua. Giulio also contributed the frescoes in the Sala dei Cavalli (Room of the Horses) where Federigo's favorite horses were portrayed on the walls overseen by the Gods on Mount Olympus featured above them. In c. 1540, Giulio built his own house in Mantua, a Bramantesque structure that reflected his great success as architect and painter. His influence as architect was great, particularly outside of Italy. Francesco Primaticcio, who assisted Giulio in the Palazzo del Tè, took his master's Mannerist architectural vocabulary to France where it was adopted by the members of the Fontainebleau School. There the style spread to other parts of Europe. The palace of the Duke of Bavaria at Landshut, in fact, is built in Giulio's manner.