Diogo Boitac

Diogo de Boitaca (c. 1460 – 1528?) was an influential architect and engineer of some of the most important Portuguese buildings, working in Portugal in the first half of the 16th century. His name has been written in different fashions: Diogo Boytac, Diogo de Boytac, Diogo Boitaca, Diogo de Boitaca. The spelling of his name as Boitac (or Boytac) suggests that he is possibly of French origin. But, as so much in his life this is uncertain. His year of birth is equally unknown, but is estimated around 1460. He died in Batalha in 1528, but even these data are uncertain. His family name occurs for the first time in 1498 in a document of king Manuel I, who granted him an annual allowance for his work at the Monastery of Jesus of Setúbal. His...