Michele Capobianco (8 June 1921 – October 2005) was an

Italia Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

n architect, mainly active in the city of

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Life and career

Born in 1921 in Vitulano,

province of Benevento The province of Benevento () is a Provinces of Italy, province in the Campania region of Italy. Its capital is the city of Benevento. Geography The province has an area of 2,071 km2, and, as of 2017, a population of 279,127. There are 78 '' ...

, Capobianco graduated in architecture in 1946. During his university years, he was a student of Marcello Canino and worked in his studio starting in 1943. Immediately after graduating, he opened a studio with Arrigo Marsiglia and Marialfredo Sbriziolo. In 1948, Capobianco received his first commissions: a building in

Poggioreale Poggioreale ( Sicilian: ''Poggiuriali'') is a ghost town and ''comune'' in the province of Trapani, western Sicily, southern Italy, located in the Belice The Belice, , is a river of western Sicily. It is about long. From its main source near ...

, the Latin America Pavilion (1948–52), and several residential buildings in the Commola Ricci park (1952–55). In 1950, following a visit by a delegation of Swedish professors and students to study new popular neighborhoods, Capobianco was invited to Sweden. In

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, he studied under

Sven Markelius Sven Gottfrid Markelius (25 October 1889 – 24 February 1972) was a Swedish modernist architect. Markelius played an important role in the post-war urban planning of Stockholm, for example in the creation of the model suburbs of Vällingby (1950 ...

and explored Nordic urban culture. In 1955, he designed a residential building in Piazzetta Santo Stefano (then Via Piave), for which he won the IN/Arch prize in 1961. At the same time, together with

Giulio De Luca Giulio () is an Italian given name. It is also used as a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name A–K * Giulio Alberoni (1664–1752), Italian cardinal and statesman * Giulio Alenio (1582–1649), Italian Jesuit missionary and s ...

, he designed the Decina building in Grifeo Park. In the 1960s, Capobianco was actively involved in the design of popular neighborhoods. In 1964, together with

Riccardo Dalisi Riccardo Dalisi (May 1, 1931 – April 9, 2022) was an Italian architect, designer and artist. References Further reading * 1931 births 2022 deaths 21st-century Italian architects Italian designers People from Potenza {{Ital ...

and Massimo Pica Ciamarra, he co-designed the ''Nuova Borsa Merci'' Building. From 1973 to 1988, he served as an emeritus professor of

architectural design Building design, also called architectural design, refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licen ...

at the Faculty of

Federico II University The University of Naples Federico II (; , ) is a public research university in Naples, Campania, Italy. Established in 1224 and named after its founder, Frederick II, it is the oldest public, secular, non-sectarian or state-funded university in ...

. He collaborated with his brother Antonio, Pica Ciamarra, Daniele Zagaria, and Corrado Beguinot on the design of the new Naples Courthouse. He also conceived a new building for the Scientific High School in the

Arenella Arenella is a quarter of Naples, southern Italy. It is on the Vomero hill above the city and was, 300 meters in elevation. Many years ago was considered a place to go to "get away from it all". It is near to the main hospital section of the city, ...

district, primarily to serve the nearby Rione Alto. IN 1973, he designed the Technical Institute in

Pomigliano d'Arco Pomigliano d'Arco is a municipality in the Metropolitan City of Naples in Italy, located north of Mount Vesuvius. It is known for its industrial pole among the largest and most influential in southern Italy. In the industrial area there is, among ...

. In the 1980s, he designed several popular districts in

Miano Miano is a suburb of Naples, Italy, with a population of around 26,000. History Since the recent administrative reorganization of the area, Miano is part of the 7th community board. Geography It borders to the north with the Scampia district ...

as part of the PSER program, as well as multiple buildings in the Naples Business District, and the Vanvitelli, Medaglie d'Oro, and

Colli Aminei The Colli Aminei are an area of Naples, Italy, that is part of the municipality of Stella-San Carlo at the Arena, specifically of the Stella district. It is bordered to the west and north by the Vallone di San Rocco, to the east by the Capodimonte ...

metro stations. In 1992, he was awarded a second IN/Arch prize and later founded the architecture magazine ''ArQ''. His son, Lorenzo, also pursued a career in architecture. Capobianco died in October 2005.

References

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Capobianco, Michele 20th-century Italian architects 1921 births 2005 deaths Architects from Naples