Antonio Bruttapelle

Antonio Bruttapelle of Bassano del Grappa, Italy, was born about 1753 and lived much of his life in what is now Croatia. He was the son of Giacomo Bruttapelle, who had died by 1777. Antonio was likely a younger brother of Andrea Bruttapelle, whose father was also documented as Giacomo. At some point, Antonio left Italy for Vrboska, a small village on the island Hvar, where he settled for a time. Antonio married Anastasia Coschich (b. 1759) of Vrboska, and they had at least three children together: Giacomo (b. 1791-1870, Memorial ID: 260827020), Tomasina (b. 1795-1795), and Maddalena (Devich, b. ~1797). While his son Giacomo was baptized at Sv. Lovre in Vrboska, it is unknown where his daughters Tomasina and Maddalena were born. The honorific Magistri was used with Antonio's name in church documents, a title that means he was a Master craftsman. Antonio was part of the Bruttapelle family of stonemasons, who hailed from Bassano del Grappa. They designed and built marble and stone altars throughout Dalmatia. They settled in Vrboska and set up a workshop there. While a small amount is known about Antonio, there is more written about his probable brother, Andrea (b. 1728), who led the family business until his 1782 death in Nereżišća, Brač. Andrea was baptized at Santa Maria in Colle by his parents Giacomo and Maddalena Bruttapelle. He had lived in Makarska in the early 1760s, where he was contracted to work on the Cathedral there. He had two children in Makarska, Anna (b. 1763) and Jacob Joseph (b. 1765). It is unclear where Andrea married his wife Maddalena Peribonio (daughter of Paolo); however, the baptism record for Jacob Joseph states she was from Stari Grad (Citta Vecchia). As of 1768, Andrea was contracted to work on an altar at Our Lady of the Rosary in Stari Grad, Hvar, but he may have built an altar in the town some time before that. After 1768, Andrea began works in Stari Grad and then throughout Hvar. He set up his workshop in Vrboska, from which the family worked for generations. His family is noted in Vrboska parish books starting around 1771. He would go on to design and build altars throughout the Dalmatian region. Andrea's son Paolo became the head of the workshop after Andrea's death. Antonio is likely documented in Croatian art history articles working with his nephew Paolo on altars in Tugare (~ 1781) and Blato, Korčula (~1800). Antonio also clearly played an important role in the business, as an early 1800s parish document notes him as Protto Antonio Bruttapelle, indicating he was a senior member of the family business. While Paolo's sons and grandsons were most notable for continuing the altar-making tradition in Vrboska, Antonio's son Giacomo is also listed in some church documents as a stonemason. Antonio's wife died in 1814 in Vrboska. At some point, Antonio likely moved to Split, where he died in 1817. His daughter Maddalena is documented in an 1827 marriage record there, corroborating that this is the correct Antonio Bruttapelle. Antonio's death record at Sv. Dujma in Split states he was buried at St. Steffano (Sv. Stjepana) cemetery and was a native of Bassano del Grappa. He was about 64 years old when he died. Baptism, marriage and death records are at the Archives in Zagreb, Croatia, and documents for some time periods are available on FamilySearch. Historical information on the Bruttapelle family came from a collection of art history articles including https://hrcak.srce.hr/file/172252