Nanni di Baccio Bigio

Who was Nanni di Baccio Bigio?

Nanni di Baccio Bigio, a pseudonym of Giovanni Lippi, was an Italian architect of the 16th century.

Nanni was born in Florence. He is described as a "versatile" architect, who had originally set out to be a sculptor working under Raffaello da Montelupo. After arriving in Rome, he made a good copy of Michelangelo's Pietà. Michelangelo disliked him while Nanni worked to supplant Michelangelo. Nanni also took over the reconstruction of the Bridge of Santa Maria from Michelangelo in 1551, but his work proved to be inadequate and the bridge was destroyed in the 1557 flood.

He worked primarily in Rome where he designed the Palazzo Salviati alla Lungara in the style of Giuliano da Sangallo, he directed the reconstruction of the Castel Sant'Angelo, and built the Porta del Popolo.

In addition, he completed the Palazzo Sacchetti in via Giulia and contributed to the fortifications of Fano and Civitavecchia.