Marianna Candidi Dionigi Explained

Marianna Candidi Dionigi
Birth Date:3 February 1756
Birth Place:Rome
Death Date:10 June 1826
Death Place:Lanuvio
Education:Academy of Fine Arts
Spouse:Domenico Dionigi
Children:7
Nationality:Italian

Marianna Candidi Dionigi (1756-1826) born in Rome, was an Italian painter, writer and salonnière who took an interest in archaeology. She wrote archaeological descriptions of buildings and monuments during a journey in Lazio.

Biography

Dionigi was born to Giuseppe and Maddalena Candidi Scilla, an aristocratic Roman family, in 1756. She was well educated, speaking various languages, and an excellent musician. She also took an interest in both archaeology and painting, studying initially under the landscape painter Carlo Labruzzi, then studying at the Academy of Fine Arts of Perugia. left|thumb|Paesaggio by DionigiDionigi wrote a monograph on painting and about her travels through Lazio. The story is told in a series of letters from a 50 year old woman. She describes archaeological sites and each letter was accompanied by a sketch. She describes five towns south of Rome which had been believed to have been founded by the mythological god Saturn. Each of the etchings were detailed and accurate. Moreover Dioigi included plans and elevations and transcribed inscriptions.[1]

She was a salon hostess and she was a friend of Vincenzo Monti, Shelley, Antonio Canova,[1] Giacomo Leopardi and the archeologist Jean Baptiste d'Agincourt. As a young woman she married the jurist Domenico Dionigi, a Count of the Lateran Palace and aristocrat from Ferrara. They had seven children. Her drawings and paintings were displayed at the Palazzo della Cancelleria, the Accademia di San Luca, and the Reggia di Caserta. She died in Lanuvio.[2]

Dionigi died in 1826 in Lanuvio.[2]

Notes and References

  1. Book: Letizia Panizza. Sharon Wood. A History of Women's Writing in Italy. 2000. Cambridge University Press. 978-0-521-57813-4. 113–114.
  2. http://www.comune.ferentino.fr.it/pagina669_personaggi-illustri.html Famous people