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(2) Francesco Galli-Bibiena
(b Bologna, 12 Dec 1659; d Bologna, 20 Jan 1739). Brother of (1) Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena. Like Ferdinando, he was sent to study under Carlo Cignani, who encouraged his interest in architecture. In 1682 he contributed painted decorations to the Palazzo Ducale in Piacenza. Later he went to Rome, where he painted theatre sets. He was then appointed court architect in Mantua and completed Giulio Romano’s elaborate courtyard of the Cavallerizza in the Palazzo Ducale. There followed sojourns in Genoa, again as a theatre designer, and in Naples, as theatre designer and as a creator of festive decorations. He then left Italy for Vienna, where he built a magnificent new Opera House (much altered) for the Holy Roman Emperor Leopold I. After the latter’s death (1705) he returned briefly to Italy and also visited London; he then went to Nancy, for consultations about the new theatre there. He was summoned back to Vienna by the Emperor Joseph I (reg 1709–11) in 1710 to continue the construction of the Opera and to design further entertainments. In 1712, however, the new Emperor, Charles VI, brought (1) Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena to Vienna as his architectural adviser. Francesco left for Italy, finding commissions for theatre-building in Verona (Teatro Filarmonico) and in Rome (Teatro Aliberti, 1720). He returned to Bologna in 1726, subsequently executing various small religious commissions and becoming director of the Accademia Clementina.
Part of the Galli-Bibiena family
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