Antonio Federighi (circa 1420 – 1490) was an

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

architect and sculptor of the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

period. He was born and active mainly in

Siena Siena ( , ; lat, Sena Iulia) is a city in Tuscany, Italy. It is the capital of the province of Siena. The city is historically linked to commercial and banking activities, having been a major banking center until the 13th and 14th centur ...

, Italy.

He began as a sculptor for the

Duomo of Siena Siena Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Siena) 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. It was the episcopal seat of the Diocese of Siena, and ...

, and worked there alongside

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 Renaissance, a contemporary of Brunelleschi, Ghiberti and Donatello. He is considered a precursor of Michelangelo ...

. In 1448, he rose to Capomaestro dell'Opera del Duomo, working with Pietro di Tommaso del Minella. Among his work at the Cathedral of Siena is the marble intarsio design of the Erythraean Sibyl (1482). He was also Capomaestro for the

Cathedral of Orvieto Orvieto Cathedral ( it, Duomo di Orvieto; Cattedrale di Santa Maria Assunta) is a large 14th-century Roman Catholic cathedral dedicated to the Assumption of the Virgin Mary and situated in the town of Orvieto in Umbria, central Italy. Since 198 ...

. He designed the Palazzo delle Papesse and the nearby Loggia del Papa (1462–63). He may have contributed to the design of Santa Maria delle Nevi. Federighi is considered as the architect who reintroduced the heavily foliated carving and the antique pagan imagery into the vocabulary of Sienese

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 ...

sculpture. During his work as the Capomaestro of the Opera, he has designed multiple holy water basins (Acquasantieras) that, for a long time, were mistaken for pagan alters. The Acquasantiera he designed is considered to have been commissioned to celebrate a marriage between the powerful clans or the birth of a mutual heir.

References

15th-century Italian architects Architects from Tuscany Italian Renaissance architects People from Siena 15th-century Italian sculptors Italian male sculptors Year of birth unknown 1490 deaths Year of birth uncertain {{Italy-architect-stub