Luigi Poletti (28 October 1792 – 2 August 1869) 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, active in a neoclassical style.

Biography

He was born in Modena. He initially obtained a doctorate in Mathematics and Philosophy in Bologna. He returns to Modena and becomes engineer of the Garfagnana, and professor of Mechanics and Hydraulics at the University. He then received a stipend to study in Rome. There he studied under Raffaele Stern. Rimini piazza cavour

In 1823, the ancient Basilica of

San Paolo fuori le Mura 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 ...

, one of the seven pilgrimage churches of Rome, was destroyed by fire. When plans for a new church were announced, a great hue arose from the neoclassic adherents of the past, such as

Carlo Fea Carlo Fea (4 June 1753 - 18 March 1836) was an Italian archaeologist. Biography Born at Pigna, in Liguria, Fea studied law in Rome, receiving the degree of doctor of laws from the university of La Sapienza, but archaeology gradually attrac ...

, who advocated for the church to be rebuilt as an exact replica of the past. Initially Pasquale Belli was hired, but soon after was replaced by Poletti who promised a closer replica. But he proposed to build a church as if the original builders ''had returned and, in their spirit, availed themselves of all the erudition compiled in the interim, revisiting the design and correcting its errors.''''The Architecture of Modern Italy: The Challenge of Tradition 1750-1900''
By Terry Kirk, page 173 Poletti also added a choir to the

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in 1840 and built the theaters in

Fano Fano is a town and ''comune'' of the province of Pesaro and Urbino in the Marche region of Italy. It is a beach resort southeast of Pesaro, located where the '' Via Flaminia'' reaches the Adriatic Sea. It is the third city in the region by po ...

(1845–1863),

Rimini Rimini ( , ; rgn, Rémin; la, Ariminum) is a city in the Emilia-Romagna region of northern Italy and capital city of the Province of Rimini. It sprawls along the Adriatic Sea, on the coast between the rivers Marecchia (the ancient ''Ariminu ...

(1843–1857) and

Terni Terni ( , ; lat, Interamna (Nahars)) is a city in the southern portion of the region of Umbria in central Italy. It is near the border with Lazio. The city is the capital of the province of Terni, located in the plain of the Nera river. It is ...

(1840–1848).Ashton Rollins Willard,
History of modern Italian art
', ''op. cit''., 1902, p. 527 (online from

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...

) He rebuilt the church of San Venanzio in

Camerino Camerino is a town in the province of Macerata, Marche, central-eastern Italy. It is located in the Apennines bordering Umbria, between the valleys of the rivers Potenza and Chienti, about from Ancona. Camerino is home to the University of C ...

, which had fallen in the earthquake of 1792. After the damage from an earthquake in 1832, he rebuilt (1836–40) the

Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli The Basilica of Saint Mary of the Angels ( it, Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli) is a Papal minor basilica situated in the plain at the foot of the hill of Assisi, Italy, in the ''frazione'' of Santa Maria degli Angeli. The basilica was con ...

in Assisi. He built the Cathedral of Montalto delle Marche on the foundations that had been started under Pope Sixtus V. He designed the church of San Filippo in the town of Nocera (disambiguate?). He completed the chapel and altar of Santissima Maria (called dell'acqua) in San Francesco in

. He built a similar chapel in

Fossombrone Fossombrone is a town and '' comune'' in the province of Pesaro e Urbino, Marche, central Italy. History The ancient Roman colony of ''Forum Sempronii'' took its name from Gaius Sempronius Gracchus. Near the Furlo Pass, during the Gothic War ...

. He designed the lighthouse and arsenal in the port of Ripa Grande. He designed the Palazzo Ceccopieri in Via di Monte Catino. He designed a number of funereal monuments in and around Rome including one dedicated to Vincenzo Casciani (1832) in the Costa Chapel,

Santa Maria del Popolo it, Basilica Parrocchiale Santa Maria del Popolo , image = 20140803 Basilica of Santa Maria del Popolo Rome 0191.jpg , caption = The church from Piazza del Popolo , coordinates = , image_size ...

and to the papal architect Cavalierie Pietro Bosio in the Campo Santo. He also reconstructed

Sant'Andrea degli Scozzesi Sant' Andrea degli Scozzesi (English: St Andrew of the Scots) is a former Catholic church in Rome, near Piazza Barberini on Via delle Quattro Fontane. Once a haven for Scottish Catholics in Rome, it was deconsecrated in 1962 and still stands. His ...

in Rome (1869). His pupils included

Virginio Vespignani 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 figur ...

. He also helped design the

Column of the Immaculate Conception, Rome The Column of the Immaculate Conception (Italian: ''La Colonna della Immacolata Concezione'') is a nineteenth-century monument in central Rome depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary, located in what is called Piazza Mignanelli, towards the south east pa ...

. He died 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 ...

References

Sources

www.italycyberguide.com

External links

*Ashton Rollins Willard,
History of modern Italian art
', Longmans, Green & Co.,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, New York tc. 1902 (on line from

) {{DEFAULTSORT:Poletti, Luigi 1792 births 1869 deaths 19th-century Italian architects Architects from Modena Italian neoclassical architects