Anselmo Lurago was among the greatest Baroque builders in Bohemia

Prague - Anselmo Martino Lurago was Italian, but he spent most of his life in Bohemia. When he died 245 years ago, on November 29, 1765, he was a respected merchant from Malá Strana and a royal court architect.
    He left his unmistakable mark on Prague Castle and also built the belfry of St. Nicholas Church in Malá Strana, thus completing the work of his father-in-law Kilián Ignác Dientzenhofer and his father. As an architect, he also worked in the service of nobility and the Augustinians, Benedictines, and Jesuits. He also designed the famous late Baroque Kinsky Palace in the Old Town Square, which is now managed by the National Gallery.
    Anselmo Martino Lurago came from an extensive artistic family. His relatives were prominent builders, architects, and masons, as well as sculptors, goldsmiths, and painters. Anselmo was born in the northern Italian town of Como, from where he went to Prague to learn under his famous uncles, builders Giovanni Antonio Lurago and Bartolomeo Scotti. He was also a student of the most sought-after Prague architect at the time, František Maximilián Kaňka, who imparted a distinctive Central European character to his work.