Gherardo Bosio (19 March 1903 – 16 April 1941) was an Italian architect, engineer and urbanist, famed for his work in planning the centre of

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

, the capital of

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

.http://www.shqiptariiitalise.com/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/shqiperi-itali/gherardo-bosio-krijuesi-i-nje-kryeqyteti.html Gherardo Bosio, krijuesi i një kryeqyteti

Biography

Bosio pursued a degree in Engineering in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

in 1926 and subsequently graduated from the

University of Florence The University of Florence ( Italian: ''Università degli Studi di Firenze'') (in acronym UNIFI) is an Italian public research university located in Florence, Italy. It comprises 12 schools and has around 50,000 students enrolled. History The f ...

School of Architecture in 1931. After the conquest of Italian East Africa in 1936, Bosio was dispatched by the Italian authorities to Ethiopia, where he prepared the masterplans for the Ethiopian cities of

Gondar Gondar, also spelled Gonder (Amharic: ጎንደር, ''Gonder'' or ''Gondär''; formerly , ''Gʷandar'' or ''Gʷender''), is a city and woreda in Ethiopia. Located in the North Gondar Zone of the Amhara Region, Gondar is north of Lake Tana on ...

and

Dessie Dessie (; also spelled Dese or Dessye) is a town in north-central Ethiopia. Located in the South Wollo Zone of the Amhara Region, it sits at a latitude and longitude of , with an elevation between 2,470 and 2,550 metres above sea level. Dessie ...

. Gherardo Bosio died of cancer at the age of 38, on 16 April 1941, at his villa in Montefonti, Florence.

Summary of works

* Renovation and extension to Villa Acton, Florence, 1927–29 * Project in the Competition for the Christopher Columbus Memorial Lighthouse,

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

, 1928–29 * Restoration, expansion and furniture design for Casa Uzielli, Florence, 1929–32 * Sisters of the Blue Chapel on Via Cherubini, Florence, 1930–31 * Furniture design for Casa Maraini, Florence, 1932 * Project of Nursing Home on Viale dei Colli, Florence, 1932 * Furniture design for Casa Traballesi, Florence, 1933 * Villa Ginori Conti, Cerreto di Pomarance, 1934 * Ugolino Golf House,

Impruneta Impruneta is a town and ''comune'' of the Metropolitan City of Florence, in the Italian region of Tuscany. The population is about 15,000. Name and production The name Impruneta is derived from ''inprunetis'' meaning "within the pine woods", and ...

, 1934 (in collaboration with Pier Luigi Nervi) * Furniture design for the Italian Institute of Culture,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

, 1935 * Restoration and furnishing of the offices of the Monsavano company, Pontassieve, 1935 * Restoration and furnishing of Villa Pandolfini, Tizzano San Polo, 1935 * Furnishing for the Foreign Ministry, Rome, 1935–37 * Furniture design for Casa Della Gherardesca, Florence, 1936 * Project for the Masterplan of

, Italian East Africa, 1936 * Project for the Masterplan of

, 1939 * "Martyrs of the Nation" Boulevard,

, 1939–41 * Grand Hotel Dajti,

, 1939–41 * Casa del Fascio,

1939–41 * Palazzo della Luogotenenza (now housing the Office of the

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

1939–41 * Presidential Palace, Tirana,

1939–41

Bibliography

* G. Bosio, '' Future città dell'Impero '', in "Architettura", XVI, July 1937, pp. 417–432 *TO. Maraini, '' Gherardo Bosio e la sua opera '', in "Illustrazione Toscana e dell'Etruria", 9, September 1941, pp. 18–21 * G. Bridges, '' Ricordo di Gherardo Bosio '', in "Stile", July 1941, pp 14–19 * G. Carapelli, '' Gli operatori, in Edilizia in Toscana fra le due guerre '', Edifir, Florence 1994, pp 214–215 * '' Gherardo Bosio architetto fiorentino 1903–1941 '', edited by C. Cresti, Pontecorboli, Florence 1996 * P. Malentacchi, '' Scheda su Gherardo Bosio '' in '' Guida agli archivi di architetti e ingegneri del Novecento in Toscana '', edited by E. Insabato, C. Ghelli, pp. 77–83 * R. Renzi, '' Gherardo Bosio. Le Ville '', Alinea, Florence 2010

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bosio, Gherardo 1903 births 1941 deaths Architects from Florence 20th-century Italian architects 20th-century Italian engineers Italian urban planners Deaths from cancer in Tuscany University of Florence alumni Italian expatriates in Ethiopia