Architect of the “nuovo stile” Luigi Bellincioni died in Florence on March 24, 1929. Born in Pontedera on January 1, 1842, Bellincioni trained in Florence and left his greatest architectural legacy in the Valdera.
The commercial success of his family as well as his political connections provided patronage opportunities according to Enrico Agonigi. The scholar also notes that Bellincioni’s interests lay in exploring design history, considering infrastructure, and studying new technologies, making him both an architect and engineer. He even served for a time as an engineer for the Italian rail system before dedicating his time fully to his architectural career.
In March of 1937, Bellincioni’s son donated his drawings to the Accademia delle arti e dei disegno in Florence. This collection includes 50 files with 196 designs that begin with his earliest studies of classical architectural types which follow those of the architect, Vignola.
Included in the collection are general drawings similar in design to his built structures like the campaniles executed in the Valdera.
References: De Gubernatis, Angelo and Ugo Matini. Dizionario degli artisti italiani viventi, pittori, scultori e architetti. Firenze: Le Monnier, 1889; Agonigi, Enrico. Luigi Bellincioni (1842-1929). Firenze: Edizioni L’Ancora, 2001.
Image credits:
Campanile, Pieve di Marti, (Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
Cemetery, Capannoli (Sailko, Wikimedia Commons)
Church of the Misericordia, 1883-1892 (Mongolo1984, Wikimedia Commons)
Further reading: Jack Basehart, Italian Splendor: Castles, Palaces, and Villas. New York: Rizzoli, 2015; Carroll L.V. Meeks, Italian Architecture: 1750-1914. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1966.