Giuseppe Maria Soli

[1] He was born in Vignola to a peasant family, and after taking note of his talent, Count Malvasia patronized his education at the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna.

Upon the Napoleonic reorganization of northern Italy into the Cisalpine Republic, he was named professor of design for the Military Academy of Modena.

He designed the Palazzo Bellucci in Vignola; the church in Carbognano near Rome; the bridges across the Panaro river between Modena and Bologna and a bridge in Rimini; and three of the façades and two staircases of the Ducal Palace of Modena.

He helped edit the Manuale di architettura del Branca (1789, Modena).

[2] He putatively played a role in the plans for the west end of Piazza San Marco.