Tito Sarrocchi (5 January 1824 – 1900) was an Italian

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

Biography

Sarrocchi was born at

Siena Siena ( , ; traditionally spelled Sienna in English; ) is a city in Tuscany, in central Italy, and the capital of the province of Siena. It is the twelfth most populated city in the region by number of inhabitants, with a population of 52,991 ...

to a humble family, as a boy was orphaned of mother. He had to help support his two sisters and his father, who had become nearly blind. At the age of thirteen, he began working under

Antonio Manetti Antonio di Tuccio Manetti (6 July 1423 – May 26, 1497) was an Italian mathematician and architect from Florence. He is particularly noted for his investigations into the site, shape and size of Dante's '' Inferno''. Although Manetti never himsel ...

in the restoration of the facade of the Duomo of Siena. he also worked as a scenographer for a dance theater company.Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti.
by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 453–455. In 1841 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 initially worked for a marble and alabaster merchant, Leopoldo Pisani.De Gubernatis. But in his free time, he attended courses at the

Academy of Fine Arts The following is a list of notable art schools. Accredited non-profit art and design colleges * Adelaide Central School of Art * Alberta College of Art and Design * Art Academy of Cincinnati * Art Center College of Design * The Art Institute ...

taught by

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 later worked as the chief assistant to

Giovanni Duprè Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...

.Berresford, Sandra. ''Italian memorial sculpture, 1820–1940: a legacy of love''. Frances Lincoln. P. 53. He created his first independent work, ''The Bacchante'' (1852) before returning to Siena. On the recommendation of Duprè he was chosen in 1855 to complete the monument to Giuseppe Pianigiani in San Domenico, which had been started by Enea Becheroni. Sarrocchi worked for ten years with

Giuseppe Partini Giuseppe Partini (Siena, 1842–1895) was an Italian architect, mostly involved in reconstructions in his native Siena. ''Giuseppe Partini (1842-1895): architetto del purismo senese'' (1981) by Maria Cristina Buscioni. He was active with the sc ...

to replicate the early 15th-century sculptures at

Jacopo della Quercia Jacopo della Quercia (, ; 20 October 1438), also known as Jacopo di Pietro d'Agnolo di Guarnieri, was an Italian sculptor of the Early Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. Biography Jacopo della Quercia takes hi ...

's ''

Fonte Gaia The Fonte Gaia is a monumental fountain located in the Piazza del Campo in the center of Siena, Italy. The first fountain in the Piazza del Campo was completed in 1342, after hydraulic construction had led water to the site. Underground pipes bro ...

''. The piece was inaugurated in 1869 with the original, weather-damaged work being moved to local hospital turned museum

Santa Maria della Scala Santa Maria della Scala (English: Mary of the Staircase) is a titular church, titular churches of Rome, church in Rome, Italy, located in the Trastevere rione. It is served by friars of the Discalced Carmelite Order. Cardinal Ernest Simoni took p ...

.Scappini, Chiara
History, Preservation, and Reconstruction in Siena: The Fonte Gaia from Renaissance to Modern Times
Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz. Accessed 15 August 2011. He would go on to complete several other restoration projects, working on

Giovanni Pisano Giovanni Pisano () was an Italian sculptor, painter and architect, who worked in the cities of Pisa, Siena and Pistoia. He is best known for his sculpture which shows the influence of both the French Gothic and the Ancient Roman art. Henry Mo ...

's sculptures in

Pisa Pisa ( ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Tuscany, Central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for the Leaning Tow ...

and again working with Partini on the restoration of

Siena Cathedral Siena Cathedral () is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary. Since the early 13th-century the Siena Cathedral has been an important pa ...

. He created façades for Basilica of Santa Croce. In 1880 Sarrocchi completed a public monument to

Sallustio Bandini Sallustio Bandini (19 April 1677 – 8 June 1760) was an Italian archdeacon, economist, and politician. He was an advocate of free trade, and removal of local feudal tariffs and tolls. He wrote an influential piece on this subject, titled ''Disco ...

, standing at

Piazza Salimbeni The Piazza Salimbeni is a prominent square in central Siena, Region of Tuscany, Italy. It is notable for still housing the offices of one of the first banking houses in Europe, the Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena. It is surrounded clockwise starti ...

in Siena. Tombs sculpted by Sarrocchi can be found at the

Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria The Monumental Cemetery of Bonaria is located in Cagliari, Sardinia. In use between 1829 and 1968, this monumental cemetery originally occupied an area at the base of the hill of Bonaria, and over time expanded upwards. The main entrance is lo ...

, including ''Il Genio della Morte'' sculpted for Venturi Gallerini, ''Tobias buries a dead man'' for the Pozzesi family, three statues of the ''Theological Virtues'' for the Boninsegni, ''The vision of Ezekiel'' for the Placidi, and ''La Riconoscenza'' for the Bandini Piccolomini Family. He also sculpted the Figoli tomb 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. Sarrocchi's work was recognised in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

when his ''First Prayer'' won a gold medal. San Giuseppe Hall in

has an exhibition of around two hundred of Sarrocchi's

plaster of Paris Plaster is a building material used for the protective or decorative coating of walls and ceilings and for moulding and casting decorative elements. In English, "plaster" usually means a material used for the interiors of buildings, while "re ...

models. He donated the pieces to his home city in 1894.San Giuseppe Hall
Santa Maria della Scala. Accessed 15 August 2011. In Siena, he also sculpted a Civil Monument to those fallen in the wars of independence (intended for and once found in Piazza dell'Indipendenza but now moved to a park in San Prospero). and a statue of Sallustio Bandini for the piazza Salimbeni. He sculpted the relief placed over the facade of the church of Santa Croce, depicting the ''Invention of the Cross''. For the English Cemetery in

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, he made four figures, monuments to three sons of Cavalier Baker. For the cathedral of Massa Marittima, he sculpted a

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

monument for monsignor Traversi, with three statues and a bas-relief. For the suburban cemetery of

he made a monument for the Count Giuseppe Alliata and his son. For the cemetery of

Modena Modena (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) on the south side of the Po Valley, in the Province of Modena, in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy. It has 184,739 inhabitants as of 2025. A town, and seat of an archbis ...

he made the monument for the family of marchesi Campori, including a relief of ''La Morte al Sepolcro''. The city of

Acquapendente Acquapendente is a city and ''comune'' in the province of Viterbo, in Lazio (Italy). Acquapendente is a centre for the agricultural production of vegetables and wine, and has a tradition of pottery craftsmanship. Its ''frazione'' of Torre Alfina is ...

commissioned him a statue in honor of the anatomist Girolamo Fabrizio.

Appointments and legacy

Sarrocchi taught sculpture to

Cesare Maccari Cesare Maccari (; 9 May 1840 – 7 August 1919) was an Italian painter and sculptor, most famous for his 1888 painting ''Cicerone denuncia Catilina'' (usually translated as ''Cicero Accuses Catiline'' or ''Cicero Denounces Catiline''). Early li ...

and

Giuseppe Cassioli Giuseppe Cassioli (26 October 1865 – 5 October 1942)
,

, designer of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

medals. Sarrocchi was nominated by the King to be Officer of the Order of SS. Maurizio e Lazzaro and knight of the

Order of the Crown of Italy The Order of the Crown of Italy ( or OCI) was founded as a national order in 1868 by King Victor Emmanuel II of Italy, Vittorio Emanuele II, to commemorate Italian unification, the unification of Italy in 1861. It was awarded in five degrees for ...

. Wilhelm I of Germany offered him the Medal of the Crown of Prussia. He was a correspondent of the Accademia Fiorentina, honorary professor of that of Bologna, socio corrispondente of the Academy of Urbino; Merit Acacemic of the Academy of Perugia. Sarrocchi also completed two years serving the Giunta Superiore delle Belle Arti at the ministry of Public Education.

References

External links

Tito Sarrocchi at A&A
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarrocchi, Tito 1824 births 1900 deaths Artists from the Grand Duchy of Tuscany Artists from Siena 19th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Catholic sculptors 19th-century Italian male artists