Pedro José Márquez and the assertion of the american architecture

Abstract

After the expulsion of Jesuits from Spain and their kingdoms by Carlos III in 1767, Pedro José Márquez settled in the Pontifical States along with his brothers of Order. In exile, the Americans faced the racial grievances of the Europeans, who boasted about the superiority of the inhabitants of the Old World. In this hostile environment towards foreigners, the Jesuits decided to defend the aggrieved homeland in their writings. This essay will reveal the erudition in architectural matters of father Márquez in the European culture. Moreover, it will expose the audacious response to the offences the prestigious Italian architect Francesco Milizia asserted about American architecture at the end of the 18th century.