Architect
2 September 1548, Vicenza, Republic of Venice - 7 August 1616, Venice
The architect whose grandest vision for Salzburg was never built. Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau hired Vincenzo Scamozzi, a pupil of Palladio and one of the most influential architects of the Italian Renaissance, to design a monumental new cathedral on the scale of St. Peter’s in Rome. After Wolf Dietrich’s downfall in 1612, the project died with his ambitions.
The cathedral that was eventually built (1614-1628, under Santino Solari) was considerably more modest than Scamozzi’s grand vision. But his influence on Salzburg’s baroque ambitions is part of the city’s architectural history. He also contributed to the initial design of the Residenz.
Scamozzi’s primary fame rests elsewhere: his completion of Palladio’s Teatro Olimpico in Vicenza and his theoretical treatise L’Idea dell’Architettura Universale (1615). Salzburg was one stop in a career that shaped European architecture.
On the map
The 2 places on this page, where they actually stand.
Locations
Baroque
The official palace and seat of power of the Prince-Archbishops for over 200 years. Wolf Dietrich von Raitenau rebuilt it in grand baroque style. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart performed for the Archbishop in these very rooms. Troger's frescoes look down from the state rooms. Today the Prunkraume and Residenzgalerie are open to visitors. Directly on Residenzplatz.
Consecrated 1628
The first baroque cathedral built in the German-speaking world, and the dominant church at the heart of Salzburg's Altstadt. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart was baptised here on 28 January 1756. The site has held a cathedral since 774, when Saint Virgil of Salzburg consecrated the first one.
