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Gino Coppede,
( Firenze, 26 settembre 1866 – Roma, 20 settembre 1927 )


Italian architect, sculpture and decorator

 

was known above all for his lavish use of ornament, seen in the decoration of his facades and in the swirling bars of iron gates and fences around the palazzos and villas he designed. His apprenticeship in ornamentation began in the successful woodcarving studio of his father Mariano, where Gino and his kid brother Adolfo ( also architect ) learned to carve intricate figures commissioned to adorn fireplaces, mirrors and armoires. The various projects contracted through his father's workshop, Casa Artistica, brought Gino into contact with Florentine architects.

After graduating from the Professional School of Industrial and Decorative Arts at age 24, he became a member of the city's Academy of Fine Arts, where he received his certification to teach architectural design.

His commission in 1919 to design this new residential section of Rome was an architect's dream: carte blanche from the clients, a Ligurian building association with plans to sell the luxurious condominium units to professionals and civil servants. Coppede held none of his exuberance or humor in check for the largest project of his career. The chubby putti, the overflowing baskets of fruit, and the winged serpents with great curled tails that adorn the buildings of the quarter were all part of the repertoire he had acquired in his father's workshop so many years before. Only on his very last project would Coppede be forced to restrict himself to a more classical style. Fascist Rome's ''call to order'' subdued his spirit; his one other commission in the capital, at 7 Via Veneto (finished in 1927), seems devoid of ornament compared with the Quartiere Coppede.


Works:

Quartiere Coppede in Rome

Villa Biancardi in Codogno ( LO )

Villa Biancardi già Castello di Zorlesco ( LO )