Italian architect, active in Venice, also known as Il Fracà. He was the proto (main architect) in the Scuola Grande di San Rocco, and in that capacity he provided design for the altar of the Chapel of SS Sacramento in the church. He is responsible for the construction of the façade of the church San Pietro in Castello, the high altar of the church Santa Maria Formosa and the restoration of the Palazzo Corfù on the Grand Canal.
The Church of San Pietro di Castello played a central role in Venetian history. From 775 to 1451 it was a Diocesan Church under the Patriarchate of Grado, then it became a Cathedral in its own right and the seat of the Patriarch of Venice.
In 1559, Vincenzo Diedo was the patrician responsible for calling on Palladio to draw up the design for the fa�ade of the cathedral of San Pietro di Castello. Diedo’s death meant that Palladio’s plans were not implemented (beyond a start made on the fa�ade) until much later in the century, after Palladio’s death, and they were then much altered by Francesco Smeraldi who had previously worked with Palladio.
The fa�ade is another of Palladio’s temples-within-temples, being a three-part fa�ade echoing the interior. It is the work of Francesco Smeraldi, but based on original designs by Andrea Palladio.
