Virgilio Marchi: Futurist Architect, Set Designer and the Forgotten Polymath of Italian Modernism

Virgilio Marchi, who was born in Livorno in 1895 to parents Vittorio Marchi and Sara Mazzoni, passed away in Rome in 1960. He graduated from Livorno's Istituto Tecnico in 1909 and later attended the Accademia di belle arti, where he received the Biringucci prize in 1912. After being drafted in 1915, he became involved with futurist groups and published the Manifesto dell'architettura futurista on 29 February 1920. Marchi designed the Casa d'Arte Bragaglia and showcased his work in June 1922. He contributed to the Teatro Odescalchi project in 1925 and curated the first futurist stage-design section at the XCIV Mostra in May 1928. Between 1935 and 1959, he participated in around sixty films, with the Teatro Odeon in Livorno, constructed from 1948 to 1952, being his most significant achievement.