Cesare Leonardi (1935-2021) & Franca Stagi (1937-2008) Biography
Cesare Leonardi was born in Modena on 3 June 1935. He graduated in 1970 from the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Florence. In the 1960s he began his collaboration with the architect Franca Stagi. The studio is notable for important design projects (the “Nastro” armchair, the “Dondolo” seat, the “K” coffee table) and avant-garde architecture such as the Vignola Swimming Center (1972) and the Mirandola Swimming Center (1975) , public parks. After the dissolution of the studio (1985) Leonardi designed and produced a series of handcrafted modular wooden furniture, the Solidi. In the same years he developed the "Central Reticular Structure", a territorial design system applied in the construction of the Bosco Albergati Park. A multifaceted and unprecedented figure in the contemporary cultural-artistic panorama, in addition to architecture he has dedicated himself to photography, sculpture and painting. Among the main publications: L'Architettura degli Alberi, Mazzotta, Milan 1982 (with Franca Stagi), Il Duomo di Modena. Photographic Atlas, Panini, Modena 1985, Solidi/Solids 1983-1993, Logos, Modena 1995. Franca Stagi was born in Modena on 26 August 1937. In 1962 she graduated in architecture at the Polytechnic of Milan; in 1963 he registered with the order of architects of Bologna and opened an architecture studio in Modena together with the architect Cesare Leonardi. Since 1985 Franca Stagi has continued her profession independently, favoring the restoration and recovery of historical architectural assets of urban centres. Among the achievements are: the restoration of the Foro Boario used as the seat of the Faculty of Economics and Commerce of the University of Modena, the restoration of the Church and the San Carlo College, the project of the San Paolo complex, the recovery plan of the Sant'Eufemia sector as the seat of university institutes, the reorganization of the Museum Palace, the restoration of the Municipal Theater and the Synagogue in Piazza Mazzini. Added to these projects are also the restoration of the Cathedral of Carpi, the creation of the "Sandra Forghieri" nursery and nursery school located in via Frescobaldi in Modena and the writing of the volume Il grande portico di piazza d'Armi in collaboration with Patrizia Curti. He died in Modena on 11 December 2008.
