Seite - 337 - in Jacopo Strada and Cultural Patronage at the Imperial Court - The Antique as Innovation, Band 1

337Imperial Architect: Background 152 The suggestion that the word ‘belic’: may have been mistakenly restored from ‘aulic’:, first suggested by Crowe and Cavalcaselle, but denied by Zimmermann, may possibly be the right one, as long as it would refer to a purely honorific title ‘Hofrat’; Sambucus, for instance, also held this title. Possibly that part of the inscription was added by Strada’s grandson Ottavio (ii), who had never known his grandfather and may not have been in- formed about his exact position at court. alone that he would have been a high-ranking officer.152 The few hard facts available suggest that as an architect he was primarily involved in the design of the Imperial residences and their decoration, as is reasonable to expect in view of his background and his earlier experience. This is corroborated by the fact that Strada first was appointed as ‘ain pau- maister bey unnseren gebewen alhier’, that is in Vienna. The need for better accommodation of the court had been felt earlier and had already led to some additions and adaptations of the Habsburg residence in Vienna, the Hofburg. But it was not just extra space that was needed, but also a more representative space, which could at least in some measure compete with the pomp displayed by other princely courts. This need became even more urgent at Ferdinand’s accession to the Empire. The process by which the court painter Pietro Fer- rabosco was transformed into a very professional architect may serve as an Figure 5.90 Anonymous sketch of a battle in the vicinity of Szatmár (Satu Mare) in Tran- sylvania, inserted in the Strahov Codex.