After completing studies in literature, he began sculpting in wood, then marble, and was then awarded a stipend to study at the
Academy of the Arts in Naples. In Naples, he won a silver medal and a further award for his submission of a clay model of
Procris dying in the Arms of Cephalus, which he presented to the Provincial Council of
Salerno. Another prize was awarded to his bas-relief of
Angel escorts St Peter out of Prison. He then went to Rome and finished a
Flavio Gioia,
Return of Dinah and Jacob, a
St John the Baptist, a
Virgin of the Purity, and a
Noli me tangere. He then traveled to Milan and Florence in 1858 and 1860, where his views turned away from Neoclassicism towards realism and romanticism. He returned to Naples, but his works attracted the attention of
Victor Emmanuel II, the King of Italy. He sculpted statues depicting the
Naive and the Poor;
Revenge; and an
Owl. He moved to Turin, where he was commissioned a monument to
Massimo d'Azeglio as well as a highly dynamic equestrian monument to
Prince Ferdinando, Duke of Genoa, where the Prince attempts to stand up in mid-battle, while his wounded horse falls. He also sculpted a
Cleopatra, and helped design coins and medals. He painted several portraits and sculpted busts of the Crown Prince of Portugal, Prince Napoleon, and
Costantino Nigra. In 1866, he became the sculptor of the
House of Savoy. In 1875, he went to Rome, and in 1900, his statue of
Flavio Gioja won the gold medal at the Exposition Universelle, Paris, one year before his death. ==References==