Antonio Barluzzi, known as the “Architect of the Holy Land,” was born on 26 September in Rome in 1884. Barluzzi studied architecture at the Sapienza University in Rome, although he initially considered becoming a priest. From the very start, his career was oriented to the Middle East: his first project, designed with his brother Giulio, was the 100-bed Italian hospital in Jerusalem. Barluzzi then started working for the Franciscan order, restoring and building churches fallen into disrepair or destroyed during earlier centuries. Between 1912 and 1955, Barluzzi reshaped some of the most significant sacred spaces of Christianity: the Garden of Gethsemane, the Mount Tabor, the Mount of Beatitudes, and the tomb of Lazarus. He died in December 1960 in Rome.
Further reading: G. Franco Repellini, Antonio Barluzzi: Architetto in Terra Santa, Milan 2013.
Images:
Antonio Barluzzi at work.
The Italian Hospital, Jerusalem, 1912-1919.
The Church of All Nations, Gethsemane, Jerusalem, 1919–24.
The Church of the Transfiguration, Mount Tabor, 1921–24.
The Church of the Beatitudes, Galilee, 1937-38.