Ridolfo "Aristotele" Fioravanti (Bologna c. 1415 or 1420 – c. 1486) was an Italian Renaissance architect and engineer. His surname is sometimes given as Fieraventi. Russian versions of his name are Фиораванти, Фьораванти, Фиеравенти, Фиораванте.

Biography

Little is known about Fioravanti's early years. He was born in Bologna

Bologna

Bologna is the capital city of Emilia-Romagna, in the Po Valley of Northern Italy. The city lies between the Po River and the Apennine Mountains, more specifically, between the Reno River and the Savena River. Bologna is a lively and cosmopolitan Italian college city, with spectacular history,...

 around 1415/1420 to a family of architects and hydraulic engineers.

He became renowned for the very innovative devices he used for the rebuilding of the towers belonging to the noble families of the city. Between 1458 and 1467 he worked at Florence

Florence

Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....

 for Cosimo de' Medici

Cosimo de' Medici

Còsimo di Giovanni degli Mèdici was the first of the Medici political dynasty, de facto rulers of Florence during much of the Italian Renaissance; also known as "Cosimo 'the Elder'" and "Cosimo Pater Patriae" .-Biography:Born in Florence, Cosimo inherited both his wealth and his expertise in...

 the Elder and at Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, before returning to his native city. Here he created the plans for the Palazzo Bentivoglio, but the edifice was not finished (by Giovanni II Bentivoglio

Giovanni II Bentivoglio

Giovanni II Bentivoglio was an Italian nobleman who ruled as tyrant of Bologna from 1463 until 1506. He had no formal position, but held power as the city's "first citizen." The Bentivoglio family ruled over Bologna from 1443, and repeatedly attempted to consolidate their hold of the Signoria of...

) until 1484-1494. In 1467 he worked for king Matthias Corvinus

Matthias Corvinus of Hungary

Matthias Corvinus , also called the Just in folk tales, was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1458, at the age of 14 until his death...

 in Hungary

Hungary

Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...

.

In 1475 at the invitation of Ivan III

Ivan III of Russia

Ivan III Vasilyevich , also known as Ivan the Great, was a Grand Prince of Moscow and "Grand Prince of all Rus"...

 he went to Russia, and built the magnificent Assumption Cathedral

Assumption Cathedral

Assumption Cathedral or Dormition Cathedral may refer to a number of Cathedral churches consecrated to the Dormition of the Theotokos in the Orthodox tradition and Assumption of Mary in the Roman Catholic tradition:*The Dormition Cathedral, Vladimir, aka Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir...

 (Uspensky Sobor, also known as Dormition Cathedral) in Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

 from 1475-1479, taking inspiration from the eponymous cathedral

Assumption Cathedral in Vladimir

Dormition Cathedral in Vladimir used to be a mother church of medieval Russia in the 13th and 14th centuries...

 in Vladimir

Vladimir

Vladimir is a city and the administrative center of Vladimir Oblast, Russia, located on the Klyazma River, to the east of Moscow along the M7 motorway. Population:...

. This is the work for which he is best remembered.

According to some accounts, he was thrown into prison by Ivan III when he asked to return to Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

, and died in captivity. According to other accounts, he participated as a military engineer and artillery commander in the campaigns against Novgorod (1477-1478), Kazan

Kazan

Kazan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan, Russia. With a population of 1,143,546 , it is the eighth most populous city in Russia. Kazan lies at the confluence of the Volga and Kazanka Rivers in European Russia. In April 2009, the Russian Patent Office granted Kazan the...

 (1482) and Tver

Tver

Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...

(1485).