Italian architect. He worked in Bohemia from 1652 and was one of the most important early Baroque architects there. He worked for nobility and the church as well. He was influenced by north Italian and Viennese architecture. His buildings are uniquely monumental. His most important work is the Cernin Palace in Prague.
Before the Dientzenhofer family of architects made its appearance , the aristocracy of Bohemia and Moravia had favoured buildings on the Italianate mode. Count Cernin, who had visited Rome several times, desired a prestigious building “in the Roman style.” His palace in Prague was constructed between 1668 and 1677 by Francesco Caratti in the Palladian manner. A solid rusticated ground floor terminating in a balustrade supports a two-storey upper building surmounted by a mezzanine floor. The whole front is articulated by giant columns.
