Giuseppe Bernardi

Who was Giuseppe Bernardi?

Giuseppe Bernardi, also called Torretto, was a prominent mid-eighteenth-century Italian sculptor. He is also known as a carver of intaglios and as the first teacher of Neoclassical sculptor Antonio Canova. His father was Sebastiano Bernardi whose works include the statues of the park of the Villa Manin di Passariano and of the Prato della Valle in Padua. His mother, Cecilia Torretto, was sister to the sculptor Giuseppe Torretto and Bernardi took the nickname "il Torretto" as a child in honor of his uncle.