Romano Carapecchia
Romano Fortunato Carapecchia (1666–1738) was an Italian Baroque architect who was active in Rome, Malta and Sicily. His designs helped transform Malta's capital Valletta into a Baroque city in the first few decades of the 18th century. Biography Carapecchia was born to Giovanni Antonio Carapecchia and Francesca Roveti in the parish of Sant'Eustachio, Rome in 1666. He studied at the Accademia di San Luca, where he won first prize for designing a palace in the seconda classe in 1681. Between around 1681 and 1691, he also worked within the studio of Carlo Fontana. In 1689, he wrote a treatise about theatre design entitled Pratica delle Machine de' Teatri. He also kept a record of his education in a document entitled Compendio Architettonico inventato da Romano Carapecchia. His career as an architect began in Rome, where he is credited with designing several buildings. He also designed urban schemes and fountains, and he produced a catafalque for Pope Alexander VIII in collaboration with Mattia de Rossi. On 27 November 1706, Pope Clement XI sent a breve pontificio to Grand Master Ramón Perellós in which he praised the work of Carapecchia. In 1707 the latter left Rome and he settled in Valletta, the