Ermenegildo Luppi

Born in Modena, Luppi studied at the Academy of Fine Arts in his hometown under sculptor Giuseppe Gibellini.

[1] Winning increasingly important government commissions, Luppi graduated from producing freestanding statues for exhibition into architectural sculpture and war memorials.

A tendency towards Fascist imagery and style is clear in his mid-1920s memorials for Modena and Avezzano, both with powerful central figures of Victory.

Political content becomes explicit in 1934 at the Palazzo del Podestà, now the City Hall of Foggia, where Luppi contributed two sculpted exterior panels which both feature a muscular Mussolini in heroic poses.

[2] Among other honors, Luppi was made a commander of the Order of the Crown of Italy and was elected to the Accademia di San Luca.