New evidence suggests Antonio del Pollaiolo was also an architect in Renaissance Rome

Key facts

• Antonio del Pollaiolo (ca. 1431–1498) was a Florentine artist active in Rome.
• Vasari claimed Pollaiolo designed the Palazzo del Belvedere in the Vatican.
• Modern critics have denied Pollaiolo's architectural activity.
• A drawing by Pollaiolo in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana claims credit for renovating the Convent of Santa Chiara in Urbino.
• The convent's structure is similar to the original Palazzo del Belvedere, as shown in a 1513 drawing by Leonardo da Vinci.
• The poem 'Antiquarie Prospectiche Romane' (1499) is attributed by Giontella to Donato Bramante.
• The poem invites Leonardo da Vinci to Rome to make a marble bust of Pollaiolo for his tomb in San Pietro in Vincoli.
• Pollaiolo had relationships with Giuliano della Rovere and Raffaele Riario, patrons of the Palazzo della Cancelleria Apostolica.