Santo Varni (1807 in

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

– 1885) was an Italian sculptor active mainly in

Liguria Liguria (; ; , ) is a Regions of Italy, region of north-western Italy; its Capital city, capital is Genoa. Its territory is crossed by the Alps and the Apennine Mountains, Apennines Mountain chain, mountain range and is roughly coextensive with ...

. He began his training at the Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti, where he was a pupil of Giuseppe Gaggini. He moved to

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

, where he was a pupil of

Lorenzo Bartolini Lorenzo Bartolini (Prato, 7 January 1777 Florence, 20 January 1850) was an Italian sculptor who infused his neoclassicism with a strain of sentimental piety and naturalistic detail, while he drew inspiration from the sculpture of the Florentine ...

. He is represented by more than forty works at the

Monumental Cemetery of Staglieno The Cimitero monumentale di Staglieno is an extensive monumental cemetery located on a hillside in the district of Staglieno of Genoa, Italy, famous for its monumental sculpture. Covering an area of more than a square kilometre, it is one of the ...

in Genoa. These include the tomb of Bracelli Spinola (1864), the tomb of Andrea Tagliacane (1870), and the tomb of Asarta (1879). He began teaching at the Accademia Liguistica in Genoa in 1838, and when Gaggini left for Turin, Varni filled his post, serving until his death in 1885. His large collection of drawings and works of local artists was dispersed after his death. Among his pupils were Eugenio Baroni and

Antonio Allegretti Antonio Allegretti (1840–1918) was an Italian sculptor. He was born in Cuneo, Piedmont, and died in Carrara, Italy. He trained in Genoa under Santo Varni. His submission to a contest in Genoa of the statue of ''Cain'', awarded him a stipend an ...

Works

* ''Madonna and Saints'', Basilica della Annunziata. * ''Triumph of Marcellus''. * ''Statue of Religion'' at the base of the Columbus Monument at Piazza Acquaverde, Genoa. * ''Laura Al Bagno'' (1858), private collection. * ''Love taming Force'' (1858–1865),

Palazzo Bianco Palazzo Bianco () is one of the main buildings of the center of Genoa, Italy. It is situated at 11, via Garibaldi (known at one time as ''Strada Nuova'', and before that, ''Via Aurea''). It is one of the Palazzi dei Rolli, but it is not listed by ...

, Genoa . * Monument for the Giuditta (1875) . * Portrait of Federico Peschiera, marble bust . * Portrait of Eugenio Spinola, bust . * Portrait of Francesco Cogorno, signed and dated bust: (1869). * Mausoleum Francisco Girbau y Tauler (1874), mausoleum for the city of Lima . * Polychrome marble fountain, apartment of the Princes in Palazzo Reale, Genoa . * Tomb of Bracelli Spinola. * Statue of Emanuele Filiberto (1866) at

Royal Palace of Turin The Royal Palace of Turin () is a historic palace of the House of Savoy in the city of Turin in Northern Italy. It was originally built in the 16th century and was later modernized by Christine Marie of France (1606–1663) in the 17th century, w ...

. * Bust of Queen Maria Pia at

Ajuda National Palace Ajuda () is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) and district of Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Ajuda is located in western Lisbon, northeast of Belém and west of Alcântara. The population in 2011 was 15,617.Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

Gallery

File:Genova - Cimitero di Staglieno - Statua della Fede e Pantheon-3.jpg, Statue of Faith at

File:DSCF8124.JPG, Statue of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

in the garden in Piazza Acquaverde File:Tomba Giuditta Varni, opera di Santo Varni.jpg, Tomb of his wife Giuditta Varni File:Tomba Dufour.JPG, Tomb of the Dufour family at

in Genoa

Sources

*
Entry in Treccani Enciclopedia Italiana
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Varni, Santo 1807 births 1885 deaths Painters from Genoa 19th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Accademia Ligustica di Belle Arti alumni 19th-century Italian male artists Artists from the Kingdom of Sardinia