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

, 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 The Palazzo Muti (officially the Palazzo Muti e Santuario della Madonna dell' Archetto) is a large townhouse in the Piazza dei Santi Apostoli, Rome, Italy, built in 1644. Together with the neighboring Palazzo Muti Papazzurri, it originally form ...

. 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 is a gate 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 in replacement for the P ...

(1868) and the restoration of

Santa Maria Maggiore The Basilica of Saint Mary Major ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore, ; la, Basilica Sanctae Mariae Maioris), or church of Santa Maria Maggiore, is a Major papal basilica as well as one of the Seven Pilgrim Churches of Rome and the larges ...

and

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

. He was also one of many participants in the reconstruction of the Basilica of San Paolo, and rebuilt and decorated Porta San Pancrazio (1857) and (1873). 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 ( it, Basilica Papale di San Paolo fuori le Mura), commonly known as Saint Paul's Outside the Walls, is one of Rome's four major papal basilicas, along with the basilicas of Saint John in the ...

. He was professor of architecture at the

Academy of Saint Luke The Accademia di San Luca (the "Academy of Saint Luke") is an Italian academy of artists in Rome. The establishment of the Accademia de i Pittori e Scultori di Roma was approved by papal brief in 1577, and in 1593 Federico Zuccari became its fir ...

, 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 the coast of the Lazio region of Italy, about south of Rome. Well known for its seaside harbour setting, it is a Port, fishing port and a departure point for ferries and hydroplanes to the Pontine I ...

. 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 is currently divided into sections: the Jewish cemetery, the Catholic cemetery, and the monument to the ...

). He helped design the Palazzo of monsignor Ferrari in

Ceprano Ceprano (Central-Northern Latian dialect: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Frosinone, in the Latin Valley, part of the Lazio region of central Italy. It is south of Rome and about north of Naples. History Ceprano was part of the Pa ...

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

. He helped design the New Theaters of

Orvieto Orvieto () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Terni, southwestern Umbria, Italy, situated on the flat summit of a large butte of volcanic tuff. The city rises dramatically above the almost-vertical faces of tuff cliffs that are compl ...

and of

Viterbo Viterbo (; Viterbese: ; lat-med, Viterbium) is a city and ''comune'' in the Lazio region of central Italy, the capital of the province of Viterbo. It conquered and absorbed the neighboring town of Ferento (see Ferentium) in its early history ...

. He was responsible for organizing pyrotechnic spectacles and stagepieces for festivals in

Castel Sant' Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

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 incorporated ...

. 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 strains of the bacterium ''Vibrio cholerae''. Symptoms may range from none, to mild, to severe. The classic symptom is large amounts of watery diarrhea that lasts a few days. Vomiting and ...

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