Mario Palanti (September 20, 1885 – September 4, 1978) was an Italian architect who designed important buildings in the capital cities of both

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

and

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

Life and career

Born in 1885 in

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, the brother of painter

Giuseppe Palanti Giuseppe Palanti (30 July 1881 – 23 April 1946) was an Italian painter, illustrator, and urban planner, best known for his portraits, notably of Mussolini and Pius XI. He had a long collaboration with Teatro alla Scala in Milan, creating c ...

, Palanti studied architecture in the

Brera Academy The Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera ("academy of fine arts of Brera"), also known as the or Brera Academy, is a state-run tertiary public academy of fine arts in Milan, Italy. It shares its history, and its main building, with the Pinacoteca di ...

and in the

Politecnico di Milano The Polytechnic University of Milan () is the largest technical university in Italy, with about 42,000 students. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and higher education courses in engineering, architecture and design. Founded in 18 ...

university. Mario was the son of Giovanni Palanti, a carpenter, and of Virginia De Gasperi, a dressmaker. (PhD dissertation) Soon after graduation he received a gold medal at the International Exhibition in Brussels and arrived in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in 1909 with a commission to manage, with the help of his compatriot, Francisco Gianotti, the construction of the Italian Pavilion for the

Exposición Internacional del Centenario (1910) The Exposición Internacional del Centenario (Centennial International Exposition) was an exhibition held between May and November 1910 in Buenos Aires, to commemorate the Centennial of the May Revolution in Argentina (the formation of the first l ...

. For nearly 20 years he worked on both sides of the River Plate for wealthy compatriot clients. During the period 1909-1919 his designs employed variations of Renaissance Revival and Art Nouveau styles and there then followed a period during which he carried out his most impressive work in Buenos Aires including

Palacio Barolo Palacio Barolo is a landmark office building, located at 1370 Avenida de Mayo, in the neighborhood of Montserrat, Buenos Aires, Argentina. It stood as Buenos Aires' tallest building for more than a decade until the construction of the Kavanagh Bui ...

and Hotel Castelar, both in Avenida de Mayo; an apartment building on the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and

Callao Avenue Callao Avenue ( es, Avenida Callao) is one of the principal thoroughfares in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Overview Mayor Torcuato de Alvear, inspired by the urban redevelopment works in Paris at the direction of Baron Haussmann, drew up master p ...

; and Palacio Chrysler (today known as Palacio Alcorta) which had an automobile test track on its roof, similar to the first FIAT factory in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) 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 ...

. During this period he also designed the

Palacio Salvo Palacio Salvo ( en, Salvo Palace) is a building at the intersection of 18 de Julio Avenue and Plaza Independencia in Montevideo, Uruguay. It was designed by the architect Mario Palanti, an Italian immigrant living in Buenos Aires, who used a simi ...

in Montevideo, and produced a large number of drawings for monumental buildings that were never built. In the final period of his work, after he returned to live in Italy in 1930, he undertook a series of projects that never materialised. He was the inventor of Palandomus. Palanti died in his native

in 1978. He was interred in the

Civico Mausoleo Palanti The Edicola Palanti inside the Cimitero Monumentale di Milano, work by architect Mario Palanti built in 1924–28, become ''Civico Mausoleo'' to honorable citizens of Milan in on 4 February 1981. Famous graves inside are: Hermann Einstein, Walter ...

, a

Cimitero Monumentale di Milano The Cimitero Monumentale (" Monumental Cemetery") is one of the two largest cemeteries in Milan, Italy, the other one being the Cimitero Maggiore. It is noted for the abundance of artistic tombs and monuments. Designed by the architect Carlo Ma ...

mausoleum for notable local citizens of his own design.

Notable works

Orders

Order of the Crown of Italy, Commander

Bibliography

* Mario Palanti, ''Prima esposizione personale d'architettura nella Repubblica Argentina'', Milano, Stab. di arti grafiche Rizzoli e Pizzio, 191

Università di Bologna * Mario Palanti, ''Cinque anni di lavoro'', Casa Editrice de Arte Bestetti & Tumminelli, 1924 - 152 pagine * Mario Palanti, ''Auditorium: progetti'', Roma, anno XIII E.F., Editore Rizzoli, 1935 - 33 pagine * Mario Palanti, ''Torre Littoria: progetti'', Milano, anno XIII E.F, Editore Rizzoli, 1935 - 46 pagine * Mario Palanti, ''Architettura per tutti'', editore E. Bestetti, 1946 - 303 pagine * Mimi Böhm, Buenos Aires, Art Nouveau, Ediciones Xavier Verstraeten, Buenos Aires, 2005.

References

External links