João Frederico Ludovice

Johann Friedrich Ludwig ( born March 19, 1670 in Honhardt, Swabia, † January 18, 1752 in Lisbon ), called in Portugal João Frederico Ludovice, was a German architect and goldsmith.

Life and work

His parents were the Forstbeamte Peter Ludwig and Rosina Elisabeth Engelhardt. In 1698 he went to Italy. There he married Ciara Agnese Morelli and converted to the Catholic faith. In Rome he worked for the Chapel of St. Ignatius in the church of the Gesù. He was influenced by the Italian Baroque master builders Carlo Fontana and Andrea Pozzo. The end of 1700 he comes with his wife to Portugal. She dies shortly after giving birth to her first child. Initially, he worked as in Italy on behalf of the Jesuit Order. The Portuguese King John V commissioned him in 1712, first with the conversion of the royal palace " Palácio da Ribeira " and in 1717 with the construction of the Palácio Nacional de Mafra to German Mafra National Palace. In Portugal, he created a number of churches and the tower of the University of Coimbra. In 1720 he married again and acquires Portuguese nationality. 1750 appoints King José I. him to court architect. He died in 1752.