(b Naples, 1684; d Perugia, 1752). Italian painter and draughtsman. Pio’s biography (1724) reports that at the age of 17 he moved from Naples, his native city, to Rome, where he studied for 18 months with Philip Peter Roos and then completed his training by studying the work of Gaspard Dughet and painting subjects from life. He painted landscapes, portraying the most picturesque aspects of nature quickly and almost impressionistically, to obtain a highly decorative effect. In Rome he received commissions from such noble families as the Teodoli, Albani and Ruspoli. In 1715 he frescoed the two main rooms of the ground-floor apartment of the Palazzo Ruspoli (Rome, Via del Corso) with landscapes and views (destr.). On this project he collaborated with such distinguished painters as Antonio Amorosi and Andrea Locatelli to create a decorative complex that included seascapes, bambocciate (low-life subjects), history paintings and mythological themes.