The father of the structure which is today the symbol of Turin – the Mole Antonelliano – was born in 1798 in Ghemma (near Novara). His began his studies in Milano, but he earned a degree in Civil Architecture from the University of Turin in 1824. During this time he was a student of Ferdinando Bonsignore (the man who designed the Gran Madre di Dio church). In 1828 he won a grant from the Reale Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti (the Royal Accademeny Albertina of Arts) to study in Rome. Antonelli is of course most famous for his Mole, which he worked on from 1863 to 1888. The structure was originally commissioned by the Jewish community of Turin and then by the city of Turin to be the site for the National Museum of Italian Independence. Antonelli, however, designed numerous other buildings, including the cupola of San Gaudenzio in Novara. He became a deputy of the subalpine parliament in the second legislature (1849) and up until his death (1888) he was a member of the City Council of Turin and the Provincial Council of Novara. |
