A World's Fair in Italy: Turin 1911

Bianconi, Guido

Name:	Bianconi, Guido
Gender:	Male
Birth:	1874
Death:	Uncertain
Description:	Guido Bianconi was born in Siena, where he trained at the Sienese Academy under Sarrocchi. After winning the Lazzarotti Prize, he moved to Turin where he probably established contact with Bistolfi and his studio, since 1903. He soon became Bistolfi's modeller and worked in some of the major monuments of that time (i.e. the monuments of Carducci in Bologna and of Garibaldi in Savona). Thanks to the reference of Bistolfi, in 1908 he obtained an important civic work from the city of Vercelli, for which he realized the Monument of Carlo Alberti. In occasion of Turin 1911 he was asked to work on the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts; there, with the collaboration of the sculptor Cesare Biscarra, he designed the huge quadrigas gracing the main facade.
Structures:	Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts According to the CTI guide, the Pavilion of Festivals and Concerts was one of the largest buildings of the Fair. It was connected to the Pavilion of Music. These buildings hosted the Electricity Hall, the Display of the Marvels of Electricity, the exhibit of Professional Teaching, and the Swiss Exhibition. The facades of these interconnected buildings were admirable for their elegant proportions and the richness of architectural detail. Among the decorations, the Guida Tricolore mentions two fountains with a statue of Neptune created by Cellini, a group of allegorical statues symbolizing music made by Michelangelo Monti, and the remarkable sculptures created by sculptors Biscarra and Bianconi. The interior featured the grand "Salone dei Concerti" (Concert Hall) built like an Olympic theater that could hold up to 9,000 people.