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Paolo Vietti-Violi (June 20, 1882,Grandson, Switzerland - December 25, 1965,Vogogna, Italy) was an Italian architect. His work was part of thearchitecture event in theart competition at the1928 Summer Olympics.[1]
Born in the French-speaking Switzerland from Italian parents who resided there for business, he studied inGeneva andParis (at theEcole des Beaux-Arts) from which he graduated in 1907.
He moved toMilan where in 1914 he re-graduated at the Royal Polytechnic in order to practice his profession in Italy.[2] He then began a career as a designer in the field of sports facilities such as racetracks, stadiums and their complementary structures. His design universe, however, was very large and varied, as evidenced by the different architectural aspects, which are identifiable in therationalism of the time, still soaked from the originalneo-classical French style.
He worked not only in Italy but also in several countries of the Central Europe; he also realized several projects in Turkey,[3] then in India, East Africa and South America (including a Jockey Club in Argentina).
His skills gained him the respect of kings, rulers and aristocrats. In 1907 he married Maria Biraghi Lossetti, an aristocratic heiress of the Lords ofVogogna Biraghi Lossetti, who bore him the following year his son Emanuele, who became an architect and his collaborator in Milan. He was an artillery officer inGenoa during the First World War and in 1944 he became the Mayor of Vogogna during thepartisan Republic of Ossola.
Vietti-Violi died inVogogna at 83 on the Christmas Day of 1965. He was still working on the racecourse Parilly of Lyon and at the new church ofVilladossola assisted by his assistant at the time, the architectVladimiro Francioli.
Paolo Vietti-Violi's sketches can be found in the collection ofMilan Jovanović Stojimirović who bequeathed his vast collection of paintings, etchings and artifacts to the Art Department of the Museum in Smederevo.[4]
An important contribution of Vietti Violi at national and international level was in sport. Vietti-Violi observed inCasabella, the international monthly dedicated to architecture: "... the rebirth of sport and, above all, the spirit of sport in Italy, as directed and organized by the fascist regime, initiated directly on an impressive renovation of sports works".His designs for sports facilities have emphasized the importance of planning the overall context: public transport and access road links, parking and stadium turnstiles. He has designed and supervised works for the construction of more than 33 racecourses, stadiums and sports facilities in Italy and abroad. Among the national ones:
Later designs include the Lido racecourse in Venice, Italy, with canter and trot facilities, stables for 260 horses.
In 1913 he went to Argentina, where he was invited to design the new headquarters of the AssociationJockey Club ofBuenos Aires.
Subsequently he went to Bombay in India, invited by the Western India Turf Club for the selection of designers for the construction of two racecourses in Bombay and Poona.
From 1930 to 1932 he became technical advisor of the Monza racetrack.
In 1932, with the young Hungarian Andreas Benko who collaborated in his studio, he created in Selvino (Bergamo) theSciesopoli di Selvino, a mountain colony for children commissioned by fascism and named after Antonio Sciesa, hero of the Risorgimento, inaugurated on 11 June 1933. The large colony consists of a complex of avant-garde buildings, completed in a very short time. The colony was equipped with dormitories, refectories, a heated swimming pool, cinema, infirmary, a large park of 17,000 square meters and courtyards for assemblies. Among the numerous financiers of the work who offered a total of 2,580,000 lire, as evidenced by the marble plaque in the entrance hall, there was the DuceBenito Mussolini, who donated 5,000 lire for its construction.
In 1937 in Yugoslavia, he was contacted for the project of the hippodrome ofZemun in Belgrade in Yugoslavia and sports facilities in Sarajevo.
In 1937 in Poland, he was contacted for the Warsaw hippodrome project by the local Jockey Club.
In 1939 in Ethiopia, at the invitation ofEquine Breeds Encouragement Society (S.I.R.E.), and request of the Vice King of Ethiopia, the Duke of Aosta, for the complete sports facilities inAddis Ababa.
In 1948 in Bulgaria, he was interviewed by the Bulgarian Government for the project of complete sports facilities in Sofia.
In 1950 in Venezuela, he was invited by the government to study a drainage project for horse racing tracks. Carries out projects for complete sports facilities and the executive project for the racecourse of Valencia, Venezuela.
Subsequently he carried out the project of the San Martino Stadium inGenoa.
The architect Vietti Violi has designed numerous indoor swimming pools during the years of his activity in Italy:
covered swimming pool for the complex of sports facilities ofl'Aquila in Abruzzo;
indoor swimming pool for the "Casa del Balilla" complex and related sports facilitiesColonia Alpina di Sciesopoli in Selvino inprovince of Bergamo;
covered swimming pool for the "Casa del Balilla" complex and related sports facilities in Saronno, in Lombardy;
The architect created the Palazzetto dello Sport at the Milan Fair, with the cycle path, which opened in April 1923 and the sports facilities of San Martino d'Albaro, L'Aquila, Merano, Saronno and Milano Marittima (Canella Giuntini, 2009)
In 1936, Vietti Violi's project was inaugurated inAnkara for the expansion to 60,000 seated spectators of the stadium 19 Mayıs Stadio ("May 19 Sports Stadium"), then the scene of many celebrations of national holidays. In a published description of the project, Vietti Violi mentions the militaristic connotations of sports activities in the 1930s: the stadium complex was "a grandiose and exceptional program which made it necessary to create a wide street for military parades" (Bozdoğan, 2001 ). Participates in the competition for the design of the Mustafa Kemal Atatürk mausoleum, in Anıtkabir (Christopher S. Wilson, 2009). Later in his career he designed BJK İnönü Stadium inIstanbul,Turkey, completed in 1954.
Vietti Violi participated in numerous design competitions for large civil works: hospitals (Pavia), factories, theaters (Genoa), basilicas (Syracuse), public structures including regional buildings.
He built important workers' villages inVilladossola for about 1000 workers and inPieve Vergonte he designed the workers' village, offices, laboratories and factories of the local industrial complex.
He participated in numerous competitions:
The architect Vietti Violi created numerous projects for private villas:
He also carried out numerous projects for residential, hotel and office buildings:
Vietti Violi created projects for religious buildings:
He participated in numerous competitions of religious works:
