Alfonso Balzico Biography
Alfonso Balzico was born in Cava dei Tirreni, Campania, on 18 October 1825.
From a young age he distinguished himself for his great skill in drawing and the art of sculpture. Thanks to his mastery in creating figurines for nativity scenes and animals, he was noticed by Francesco De Stefano, a judge who granted him a grant to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples, where he studied under the guidance of Tito Angelini and Francesco Citarelli.
During his stay in Milan and Florence, he was influenced by the best artistic environment of the time, moving from neoclassical style to realism. Among his most representative works of this period are the statue of Goethe's Margaret and the Bride of Songs, Nello Della Pietra and Pia dei Tolomei preserved in the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome.
Returning to Naples, Balzico created four statuettes: the Poor Woman, the Ingenua, the Owl (which was donated to Vittorio Emanuele II by the Municipality of Naples after the fall of the Bourbon Kingdom) and the Avenger, created on the direct commission of the sovereign.
Subsequently, he moved to Turin and created numerous portraits of characters of the time such as Prince Umberto, Princess Margherita on horseback, the Count of Cavour.
His technical mastery earned him the commission for the equestrian monument to the Duke of Genoa, inaugurated in 1877 and located in Turin in Piazza Solferino.
Balzico died in Rome on 2 February 1901.
