Pio Piacentini (15 September 18466 April 1928) was an Italian architect and the father of

Marcello Piacentini Marcello Piacentini (8 December 188119 May 1960) was an Italian people, Italian urban theorist and one of the main proponents of Italian Fascist architecture. Biography Early career Born in Rome, he was the son of architect Pio Piacentini. He ...

. His works include the

Palazzo delle Esposizioni The Palazzo delle Esposizioni is a Neoclassicism, neoclassical exhibition hall, cultural center and museum on Via Nazionale (Rome), Via Nazionale in Rome, Italy. History Designed by Pio Piacentini, it opened in 1883. It has housed several exhi ...

(1883), the Rinascente palace (1920), the monumental entrance to

Villa Sciarra The Villa Sciarra is a villa in Frascati, Italy. Also called ''Villa Bel Poggio'', the Villa Sciarra was built in 1570 at the orders of Ottaviano Vestri. The portal gate of the gardens is to ascribe to Nicola Salvi. The main edifice of the ...

, and Palazzo Piacentini (finished after his death, in 1932). He also directed the construction works of the Vittoriano since 1905, together with Manfredo Manfredi and Gaetano Koch.

Life

Pio Piacentini was born 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, ...

on 15 September 1846. He received his architectural training at the

Accademia di San Luca The Accademia di San Luca () is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its first ''principe'' or director; ...

, graduating in 1867; afterwards he practised in

Virginio Vespignani Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect. Biography Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti (architect), Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming o ...

’s office in Rome. His unusual and highly eclectic work, influenced by

Renaissance Revival architecture Renaissance Revival architecture (sometimes referred to as "Neo-Renaissance") is a group of 19th-century Revivalism (architecture), architectural revival styles which were neither Greek Revival architecture, Greek Revival nor Gothic Revival ar ...

and by the innovative work of his French contemporary Charles Garnier, was evident in his first major design, for the

on the Via Nazionale in Rome. In January 1878, Piacentini won the second competition for the Palazzo, the first competition having failed to specify the building’s exact location and the proposed budget. The success of his plan, which bore the motto ‘Sit quod vis simplex et unum’, meant that at the age of 33 Piacentini had already obtained the commission for an important building, the function and location of which, next to the church of San Vitale, earned him considerable fame and prestige. Preceded by a sweeping flight of steps, the

façade A façade or facade (; ) is generally the front part or exterior of a building. It is a loanword from the French language, French (), which means "frontage" or "face". In architecture, the façade of a building is often the most important asp ...

of the Palazzo is characterized by the great space of the Serlian entrance archway, which, rather than accentuating its role as a triumphal entrance, seems to introduce a dramatic pause in the compact mass that stands behind it. Conscious of the prestige and theatricality of the Palazzo, which was completed in 1882, Piacentini also devised a far-reaching plan for the layout of the surrounding area, suggesting a link with the

Quirinale The Quirinal Palace ( ) is a historic building in Rome, Italy, the main official residence of the President of the Italian Republic, together with Villa Rosebery in Naples and the Tenuta di Castelporziano, an estate on the outskirts of Rome, som ...

across a garden in order to enhance the monumentality of the Palazzo. This remained unexecuted, however. An invitation in 1882 to take part in the competition for the design of the Banca Nazionale, Rome, indicated the reputation that Piacentini had acquired through his design for the Palazzo. It was Gaetano Koch, however, who eventually won this commission. The Palazzo Sforza-Cesarini (1886) on Corso Vittorio Emanuele reveals Piacentini’s desire to broaden his own interpretation of Renaissance canons but is one of his less successful designs. His restless desire to experiment with new expressive forms also led him, in the case of San Giovanni Berchmans (1889), in Via degli Etruschi, to adopt a sort of affected

Romanesque Revival style Romanesque Revival (or Neo-Romanesque) is a Architectural style, style of building employed beginning in the mid-19th century inspired by the 11th- and 12th-century Romanesque architecture. Unlike the historic Romanesque style, Romanesque Reviv ...

. His most successful late design was another monumental building, the headquarters of the Ministry of Justice on Via Arenula, also in Rome, which again involved a major work of urban planning. Lying between Via del Melangolo, Via Arenula and Via degli Strengari, the building’s design accommodated the differing characters of these streets. For example, the ground-plan follows a curved line to contain the buildings of the Regola district along Via degli Strengari. The important medieval group of buildings known as the ‘Casa di San Paolo’ was therefore incorporated and preserved in the design for the Ministry building. The frontage on to Via Arenula, however, has a monumental façade, reflecting the different context and perspective provided by that area. Built in stages from 1911, the building was, according to some critics, a sympathetic response to current Roman

environmentalist Environmentalism is a broad Philosophy of life, philosophy, ideology, and social movement about supporting life, habitats, and surroundings. While environmentalism focuses more on the environmental and nature-related aspects of Green politics, g ...

concerns. The decoration of the building was inspired by an archaic version of

Quattrocento The cultural and artistic events of Italy during the period 1400 to 1499 are collectively referred to as the Quattrocento (, , ) from the Italian word for the number 400, in turn from , which is Italian for the year 1400. The Quattrocento encom ...

styles. Piacentini’s son

was also actively involved in this project, which was completed only in 1929.

Select works

* Chiesa del Santissimo Rosario di Pompei * Palazzo De Carolis-Simonetti * Palazzo Malvezzi Campeggi * Palazzo Piacentini * Palazzo del Banco di Santo Spirito * Palazzo della Rinascente * Palazzo delle Esposizioni * Palazzo Muti-Cesi-Berardi * Palazzo Sforza-Cesarini o Cancelleria Vecchia * Traforo Umberto I * Vittoriano File:Esposizioni Palace (13972073093).jpg,

, Rome File:Ministero di Grazia e Giustizia (Rome).jpg, Headquarters of the Ministry of Justice on Via Arenula, Rome File:Palazzo della Rinascente a l go Chigi 1190725.JPG, Palazzo della Rinascente File:Rione I Monti, Roma, Italy - panoramio (8).jpg, Traforo Umberto I, Rome

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Piacentini, Pio 1846 births 1928 deaths Artists from Rome 19th-century Italian architects 20th-century Italian architects