Bianchi, Pietro

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Bianchi, Pietro (1787–1849). Italian Neo-Classical architect from the Ticino area. A pupil of Luigi Cagnola, he was responsible for the Church of San Francesco di Paola, Naples (1817–31), with its high, windowless drum and Pantheon-like dome, and serenely beautiful interior. Much influenced by French precedent, the curved colonnades on either side of the portico were based on Bernini's Piazza di San Pietro in Rome. They were designed by Leopoldo Laperuta (1771–1858) and Antonio de Simone (1759–1822) from 1808 for an earlier scheme proposed under the French occupation.

Bibliography

Meeks (1966);
Middleton & and Watkin (1987);
Ossana Cavadini (1995)

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