Sebastiano Grandis
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Sebastiano Grandis ( San Dalmazzo of Tenda, 6 April 1817 –
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
, 10 January 1892) was an Italian engineer, famous for having designed and directed with Severino Grattoni and
Germain Sommeiller Germain Sommeiller (February 15, 1815, in Saint-Jeoire – July 11, 1871) was an Italian civil engineer from Savoy. He directed the construction of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel between France and Italy, also known as the Mont Cenis Tunnel. This wa ...
the works for the construction of Frejus railway tunnel (also known as Traforo del Cenisio or Mont Cenis Tunnel) in length between
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
and
Italy 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 ...
, the first large tunnel in a mountain. For this project, along with Sommeiller, they pioneered the use of a large pneumatic
jackhammer A jackhammer (pneumatic drill or demolition hammer in British English) is a pneumatic or electro-mechanical tool that combines a hammer directly with a chisel. It was invented by William McReavy, who then sold the patent to Charles Brady Ki ...
.


Biography

Grandis was born in the
county of Nice The County of Nice (; ; Niçard ) was a historical region of France and Italy located around the southeastern city of Nice and roughly equivalent to the modern arrondissement of Nice. It was part of the Savoyard state within the Holy Roman Emp ...
, at that time part of the
Kingdom of Sardinia The Kingdom of Sardinia, also referred to as the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica among other names, was a State (polity), country in Southern Europe from the late 13th until the mid-19th century, and from 1297 to 1768 for the Corsican part of ...
, from parents originally from
Borgo San Dalmazzo Borgo San Dalmazzo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southwest of Cuneo. Borgo San Dalmazzo takes its name from Saint Dalmatius of Pavia. Sights ...
( CN). His grandfather, concessionaire of the Vallauria mine, guaranteed an excellent standard of living for the entire family. When Sebastiano was still a child, his father Valentino left the mine and opened a drapery factory in Borgo San Dalmazzo, where he moved with his family. After studying at the Royal College of
Ventimiglia Ventimiglia (; , ; ; ) is a resort town in the province of Imperia, Liguria, northern Italy. It is located west of Genoa, and from the French-Italian border, on the Gulf of Genoa, having a small harbour at the mouth of the Roia river, w ...
and finishing high school in
Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...
, in 1837 Sebastiano moved to Turin to attend university. He graduated in 1841 in
hydraulic engineering Hydraulic engineering as a sub-discipline of civil engineering is concerned with the flow and conveyance of fluids, principally water and sewage. One feature of these systems is the extensive use of gravity as the motive force to cause the move ...
and, in 1842, in civil architecture. From 1841 he began teaching at the university. In 1843 he entered the Civil Engineers Department. In 1846 he was sent together with
Germain Sommeiller Germain Sommeiller (February 15, 1815, in Saint-Jeoire – July 11, 1871) was an Italian civil engineer from Savoy. He directed the construction of the Fréjus Rail Tunnel between France and Italy, also known as the Mont Cenis Tunnel. This wa ...
, already his fellow student, to
Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
in order to learn the techniques of construction and management of railways. In 1848 he was promoted to 2nd class engineer and he was entrusted with the direction of the Turin-
Moncalieri Moncalieri (; ) is a ''comune'' (municipality) of 56,134 inhabitants (31 January 2022) about directly south of downtown Turin (to whose Metropolitan City of Turin, Metropolitan City it belongs), in Piedmont, Italy. It is the most populous suburb ...
railway line. In 1851 he was promoted to 1st class engineer. In 1852 he was sent to
Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
and
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, as an observer, and in 1854 he became director of the railway workshops of the Kingdom of Sardinia. In 1859 he was in charge of managing the movement of
Piedmont Piedmont ( ; ; ) is one of the 20 regions of Italy, located in the northwest Italy, Northwest of the country. It borders the Liguria region to the south, the Lombardy and Emilia-Romagna regions to the east, and the Aosta Valley region to the ...
ese troops by rail during the Second War of Independence. He then spent a month at the telegraph station of Casale to supervise the transport of Franco-Sardinian troops and their weapons and provisions, which were concentrating between
Alessandria Alessandria (; ) is a city and commune in Piedmont, Italy, and the capital of the Province of Alessandria. It is also the largest municipality of the region. The city is sited on the alluvial plain between the Tanaro and the Bormida rivers, ...
, Casale and
Valenza Valenza ( or ''Valensá'') is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Alessandria in the Italian region Piedmont, located about east of Turin and about north of Alessandria, in the extreme Montferrat’s offshoots, in the Lombardy’s ...
. In 1867 he became a member of the Superior Council of Public Works, but the work that made him famous was the construction of the Frejus Tunnel with Germain Sommeiller and Severino Grattoni and the patenting of the pneumatic drill, which was used to excavate the tunnel itself. In addition to these works, there are also some of his written memoirs, including ''Sullo stabilimento metallurgico e meccanico di Pietrarsa presso Napoli'' (published in 1861) and ''Considerazioni tecniche ed economiche sul traforo delle Alpi'' (published posthumously in 1893). Upon his death, he left his possessions to the town of Borgo San Dalmazzo, to finance scholarships for deserving young people. In 1869 he married Antonietta Imberti, from whom he had no children. The brothers had numerous descendants who still live in the house in Borgo San Dalmazzo.


Toponymy and monuments

*
Bardonecchia Bardonecchia (; ; , ) is an Italian town and ''comune'' located in the Metropolitan City of Turin, in the Piedmont region, in the western part of Susa Valley. It grew out of a small village with the works for the Fréjus Rail Tunnel, the first c ...
: the municipality has dedicated to Sebastiano Grandis a street *
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
: the city has dedicated to all those who worked on the Frejus tunnel a memorial monument in the center of
piazza Statuto Piazza Statuto is a city square in Turin, Italy. Buildings around the square *Fréjus Rail Tunnel The Fréjus Rail Tunnel (also called Mont Cenis Tunnel) is a rail tunnel of length in the European Alps, carrying the Turin–Modane railw ...
, inaugurated in 1890 and at the top of which are displayed the surnames of the three engineers, including the one of Grandis. Moreover a street in the area near piazza Statuto has been dedicated to him * Rome: the capital city has dedicated a side street of Via di Santa Croce in Gerusalemme to Sebastiano Grandis. Curiously, the next two side streets are dedicated to Germain Sommeiller and Severino Grattoni *
Cuneo Cuneo (; ; ; ) is a city and in Piedmont, Italy, the capital of the province of Cuneo, the fourth largest of Italy’s provinces by area. It is located at 550 metres (1,804 ft) in the south-west of Piedmont, at the confluence of the ri ...
: in Cuneo there is a street and a school named after Sebastiano Grandis *
Borgo San Dalmazzo Borgo San Dalmazzo () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Cuneo in the Italian region Piedmont, located about south of Turin and about southwest of Cuneo. Borgo San Dalmazzo takes its name from Saint Dalmatius of Pavia. Sights ...
: Borgo San Dalmazzo has dedicated to Sebastiano Grandis a street, a square and the headquarter of the school; in the cemetery there is a funerary monument commissioned by his wife and made by the artist
Leonardo Bistolfi Leonardo Bistolfi (14 March 1859 – 2 September 1933) was an Italian sculptor and an important exponent of Italian Symbolism. Biography Early life and education Bistolfi was born in Casale Monferrato in Piedmont, north-west Italy, to Giovann ...
*
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 ...
: in the
Sampierdarena Sampierdarena (also San Pier d'Arena; Ligurian: San Pè d'ænn-a) is a major port and industrial area of Genoa, in northwest Italy. With San Teodoro it forms the West Central (Centro Ovest) ''municipio''. Geography Sampierdarena lies on ...
district there is a Vico Grandis between Via Luigi Dottesio and
Vico Grattoni Vico or de Vico may refer to: People Surname * Antonio Vico (cardinal) (1847–1929), Catholic cardinal * Antonio Vico y Pintos (1840–1940), Spanish stage actor * Claudio Vico (died 1599), Roman Catholic prelate and Bishop of Strongoli * Enea ...
.


Honors


Italian honors

Grand Officer of the Order of the Crown of Italy Commander of the Order of Saints Maurice and Lazarus


Foreign honors

Grand Officer of the Order of the Legion of Honor (France) Knight of II class of the Order of Vasa (Sweden)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grandis, Sebastiano 1817 births 1892 deaths Italian engineers Italian people in rail transport People from Borgo San Dalmazzo