Virginio Vespignani (12 February 1808 – 4 December 1882) was an Italian architect.

Biography

Vespignani was born in Rome. A student of Luigi Poletti, he was highly interested in classical architecture, becoming one of Roman neoclassical's main figures. To graduate, he helped illustrate in collaboration with the engraver and architect Rossini a work on the Antiquities of Pompei and on The Seven Hills of Rome. He later would collaborate with a book by the archeologist

Edward Dodwell Edward Dodwell (30 November 176713 May 1832) was an Irish painter, traveller and a writer on archaeology. Biography Dodwell was born in Ireland and belonged to the same family as Henry Dodwell, the theologian. He was educated at Trinity Colle ...

, published in London. In 1850 he built the neoclassical domed Church of the Madonna dell’Archetto around the shrine of the Madonna in Palazzo Muti. He worked for a time as papal architect, and his works in Rome include the completion, restoration and rebuilding of the external facade of

Porta Pia Porta Pia was one of the northern gates in the Aurelian Walls of Rome, Italy. One of Pope Pius IV's civic improvements to the city, it is named after him. Situated at the end of a new street, the Via Pia, it was designed by Michelangelo to rep ...

(1868) and the restoration of

Santa Maria Maggiore Santa Maria Maggiore (), also known as the Basilica of Saint Mary Major or the Basilica of Saint Mary the Great, is one of the four Basilicas in the Catholic Church#Major and papal basilicas, major papal basilicas and one of the Seven Pilgrim C ...

and

San Lorenzo fuori le mura The (Papal Basilica of Saint Lawrence outside the Walls) is a Roman Catholic papal minor basilica and parish church, located in Rome, Italy. The Basilica is one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and one of the five papal basilicas (former ...

. He was also one of many participants in the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Paolo, and rebuilt and decorated

Porta San Pancrazio Porta San Pancrazio is one of the southern gates of the Aurelian walls in Rome, Italy. The gate houses the National Association of Garibaldi Veterans and Survivors along with the Garibaldi Museum (also dedicated to the Italian Partisan Division ...

(1857) and (1873). The monastery of San Lorenzo in Vineis was suppressed in the 19th-century, but the church was likely spared destruction by the allocation of the adjacent site for the civic cemetery, designed by Vespignani in 1867. In 1869, he became the main architect of the

Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls The Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls (, ) is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the Lateran, Saint Peter's, and Saint Mary Major, as well as one of the city’s Seven Pilgrim Ch ...

. He was professor of architecture at the Academy of Saint Luke, and became president of the institution. He served on many boards and honorary memberships. He helped restore the Papal palace in

Anzio Anzio (, also ; ) is a town and ''comune'' on region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside resorts, it is a fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine Islands of Ponza, Palmarola, and Ve ...

. He helped design the layout of the Cemetery of Rome (

Campo Verano The Campo Verano (Italian: ''Cimitero del Verano'') is a cemetery in Rome, Italy, founded in the early 19th century. The monumental cemetery covers a surface area of 83 hectares which is currently divided into several sections: the main Catholic ...

). He helped design the Palazzo of monsignor Ferrari in

Ceprano Ceprano (Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Valle Latina, part of the Lazio region of Central Italy. It is south of Rome and about north of Naples. In 1994, the Ceprano Man, a 450,000 year o ...

, the church of Santa Maria in Capranica, and the Palace of Marchese Chino Ferrari in

. He helped design the Palazzo Ravizza and the opera houses of Orvieto (

Teatro Mancinelli Teatro Mancinelli is the main theater stage in Orvieto for live dramatic and musical performances. History and description Located at the site of the former Palazzo Orienti, in 1844 a group of citizens proposed erecting a theater at this site. ...

) and Viterbo ( Teatro dell'Unione). He was responsible for organizing pyrotechnic spectacles and stagepieces for festivals in

Castel Sant' Angelo Castel Sant'Angelo ( ), also known as Mausoleum of Hadrian (), is a towering rotunda (cylindrical building) in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausoleum for himself and his family. ...

He worked on the restoration of

San Lorenzo in Damaso The Minor Basilica of St. Lawrence in Damaso (Basilica Minore di San Lorenzo in Damaso) or simply San Lorenzo in Damaso is a parish and titular church in central Rome, Italy that is dedicated to St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr. It is incorporate ...

. He has been awarded as knight of the Order of San Silvestro, and that of the Order of Christ of Portugal, or the order of San Gregorio. He received the Order of the Guadalupe of Mexico, a medal from Emperor Franz Joseph of Austria, Charles the third of Spain. In 1855 the municipality of Rome conferred him a gold medal, for his work during a

cholera Cholera () is an infection of the small intestine by some Strain (biology), strains of the Bacteria, bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea last ...

epidemic.Dizionario degli Artisti Italiani Viventi: pittori, scultori, e Architetti
by Angelo de Gubernatis. Tipe dei Successori Le Monnier, 1889, page 543-544.

References

External links

*
www.info.roma.it
1808 births 1882 deaths Architects from Rome 19th-century Italian architects Italian neoclassical architects {{Italy-architect-stub