Giovanni Battista Calvi

Despite popular belief that Calvi was born in Sardinia, he was actually born in Lombardy in the early 16th century. Prior to working for the Spanish Monarchy he worked as a civil engineer in Rome, under the direction of Antonio da Sangallo the Younger, on the façade of Palazzo Farnese. In 1552, he was sought out by Philip II (then only a Prince) to fortify the Spanish coasts and the frontier with France in the Roussillon. ==Reputation==

Calvi was the first engineer to provide comprehensive reports on the status of the defensive projects of Spain and the Spanish North-African possessions. Roses, Cádiz (where he refurbished the walls)" or Gibraltar (where he was responsible for building Charles V Wall, protecting the town from southern attacks). During his inspection trips, he visited Mers El Kébir, Oran, Melilla, Valencia, Burgos, Medina del Campo, Valladolid or Granada. and that he was "one of the best engineers of the 16th century, the first to devise a global plan for the defense of the [Iberian] Peninsula". He died in Perpignan in 1564. ==Notes==