(b Villaorba di Basiliano, 7 Feb 1880; d Rome, 25 Dec 1960). Italian sculptor, medallist and die-engraver. As a traditionalist, he declared that great art could be created only as the result of outside commissions; this philosophy is demonstrated by such work as his sculpture on the façade of the Palazzo Communale in Udine and in his many funerary and war monuments, fountains and portrait busts. His strong attachment to the Church resulted in numerous works, including low reliefs for the abbey of Montecassino and the Nerazzini Pietà (Montepulciano). From 1910 he also worked as a medallist, producing 330 medals. In 1920 he was appointed die-engraver to the Holy See and in 1930 supervised production of a new series of papal medals depicting ancient symbols of the Church. Notable among his coins is the first series (1929; for illustrations see Orsini, pp. 56–59) for Pope Pius XI (reg 1922–39). Mistruzzi was a traditional, academic artist; his art is not innovative or even very original, but it is confident, balanced and technically superb.