{"id":1388,"date":"2026-06-23T09:21:25","date_gmt":"2026-06-23T09:21:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverscilla.com\/?page_id=1388"},"modified":"2026-08-19T08:33:36","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T08:33:36","slug":"mariano-bova","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverscilla.com\/en\/mariano-bova\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariano Bova"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-1 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1331.2px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-0 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:20px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-1\"><p class=\"translation-block\">He was born in Scilla on 8 December 1757, to Francesco and Caterina Dieni, and grew up alongside his elder\nbrother Rocco, who had already embarked upon scientific studies.<br>\nFrom childhood he displayed a particular talent for drawing and a marked artistic ability.<br>\nHe drew everywhere, especially in the countryside, where he felt free to carve onto stones or the ground the\nanimals he encountered, depicting them in their various postures.<br>\nAs a result, his family became convinced that Mariano should pursue an artistic career and sent him to Naples,\nto study under the painter De Dominicis and the sculptor Sammartino.<br>\nHe made steady progress in the arts, but he also frequently amused himself by engraving figures and letters\nonto copper with remarkable elegance.<br>\nThis talent was noticed by his learned cousin, the Dominican friar Antonio Minasi, who decided to direct him\ntoward the study of engraving. At that time, the most renowned master in this field was the Florentine Bartolozzi.<br>\nIn 1764 Bartolozzi had moved to England at the invitation of Dalton, librarian to George III, bringing with him\nhis already celebrated school, from which distinguished Italian pupils such as Minasi and Schiavonetti, as well\nas foreign students such as Tom Kins, emerged.<br>\nIt was not easy, however, for the young Mariano to be admitted to Bartolozzi\u2019s school; therefore the influential\nfriar made use of his friendship with Madame Swinburne and Sir Hamilton, the British ambassador to the Court\nof Naples, and thus achieved his objective.<br>\nThe generosity of the Neapolitan Royal Court completed the effort, financing by governmental decree his journey,\nhis stay in London, and the expenses required to attend Bartolozzi\u2019s school.<br>\nAfter three years of diligent work, Mariano acquired great renown and considerable fortune. Having become\nhighly esteemed within London society, he decided to capitalize on his engraving skills by becoming a print dealer.<br>\nFor his work he employed drawings by Westall, Mayer, Du Creu, Lady Worsley, Lady Besborough, and William\nLoch, as well as by Italian artists such as Pellegrini and Salvini.<br>\nHe also drew inspiration from the great Italian masters of the past, including Raphael, Veronese, Correggio,\nand Parmigianino.<br>\nHis works were numerous and varied, dealing with mythology, allegory, history, and scenes from both natural\nand social life. However, the field in which he excelled most was portraiture.<br>\nParticularly admired were his portraits of the Princess of Wales, the Queen of France, Louis XVI, and Henry\nSwinburne.<br>\nThe work that distinguished him above all others, because it was executed with the full measure of his commitment\nand artistic genius inspired by profound gratitude, was the engraving depicting the Royal Family of\nNaples, based on a drawing by the painter Angelica Kauffman.\nThe Bourbon monarchs had generously provided him with the opportunity to become the artist he ultimately\nbecame. This work represents the highest expression of his art, both for the \u201ctruthfulness of the likenesses\u201d\nand for the tones, colors, and almost imperceptible shades that lend the composition an unsurpassed harmony\nand serenity.<br>\nBova sent twelve copies of this work to Naples, each furnished with gilded metal frames and glass coverings.<br>\nThey were presented on his behalf by the British ambassador himself to the Neapolitan Court, where they were\ngreatly admired.<br>\nThe excellent and mutually affectionate relationship with the Bourbon sovereigns was demonstrated again during\nanother painful episode in Bova\u2019s life.<br>\nWhen he decided to return to Italy, taking advantage of the presence of his brother Rocco in London, who\ncould remain in charge of the print workshop and shop, he was owed a credit of twenty-two thousand pounds.<br>\nUpon arriving in Messina, he deemed it appropriate to ship a valuable cargo of artworks to London.<br>\nHowever, these were stolen in the waters off Sardinia.<br>\nHis anguish was immense and plunged him into a deep melancholy from which he could not recover.\nThe benevolent and generous Neapolitan Court therefore granted the celebrated engraver a pension of three\nhundred ducats to alleviate his distress; and when he decided to remain in Messina, it appointed him professor\nof drawing at the Royal College there.<br>\nAmong many other engravings, Bova produced those based on drawings made by Fortuyn for Father Antonio\nMinasi; these illustrated various sites in Calabria, and especially in Scilla.<br>\nIn Messina he continued to work; however, by then he lacked the enthusiasm and the driving force toward the\n\u201cbeautiful\u201d that true art requires, and consequently this final phase of his production was not the finest of his\ncareer.<br>\nHe lived for several more years in Messina and died on 9 April 1813.<br>\nHis remains were buried in the Capuchin Church of Messina, while his portrait, painted by the artist Pellegrini,<br>\nis preserved in London by the Society of Engravers.<\/p>\n<\/div><div class=\"fusion-text fusion-text-2\"><p style=\"text-align: right;\"><em>Giuseppe Ribuffo<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><div class=\"fusion-fullwidth fullwidth-box fusion-builder-row-2 fusion-flex-container has-pattern-background has-mask-background nonhundred-percent-fullwidth non-hundred-percent-height-scrolling\" style=\"--awb-border-radius-top-left:0px;--awb-border-radius-top-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-right:0px;--awb-border-radius-bottom-left:0px;--awb-flex-wrap:wrap;\" ><div class=\"fusion-builder-row fusion-row fusion-flex-align-items-flex-start fusion-flex-content-wrap\" style=\"max-width:1331.2px;margin-left: calc(-4% \/ 2 );margin-right: calc(-4% \/ 2 );\"><div class=\"fusion-layout-column fusion_builder_column fusion-builder-column-1 fusion_builder_column_1_1 1_1 fusion-flex-column\" style=\"--awb-bg-size:cover;--awb-width-large:100%;--awb-margin-top-large:0px;--awb-spacing-right-large:1.92%;--awb-margin-bottom-large:20px;--awb-spacing-left-large:1.92%;--awb-width-medium:100%;--awb-order-medium:0;--awb-spacing-right-medium:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-medium:1.92%;--awb-width-small:100%;--awb-order-small:0;--awb-spacing-right-small:1.92%;--awb-spacing-left-small:1.92%;\"><div class=\"fusion-column-wrapper fusion-column-has-shadow fusion-flex-justify-content-flex-start fusion-content-layout-column\"><div ><a class=\"fusion-button button-flat fusion-button-default-size button-custom fusion-button-default button-1 fusion-button-default-span\" style=\"--button_accent_color:#f20800;--button_border_color:#2038b2;--button_accent_hover_color:var(--awb-color1);--button_border_hover_color:var(--awb-color1);--button_gradient_top_color:var(--awb-color1);--button_gradient_bottom_color:var(--awb-color1);--button_gradient_top_color_hover:var(--awb-color4);--button_gradient_bottom_color_hover:var(--awb-color4);--button_text_transform:none;\" target=\"_self\" href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverscilla.com\/en\/rocco-bova\/\"><i class=\"fa-angle-double-right fas awb-button__icon awb-button__icon--default button-icon-left\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><\/i><span class=\"fusion-button-text awb-button__text awb-button__text--default\">Next page: 87. Rocco Bova, Astronomer<\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1911,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1388","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Mariano Bova - Discover Scilla<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.discoverscilla.com\/en\/mariano-bova\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mariano Bova - Discover Scilla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.discoverscilla.com\/en\/mariano-bova\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Discover Scilla\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-08-19T08:33:36+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.discoverscilla.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Chianalea-dal-mare.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1620\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"10 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.discoverscilla.com\\\/mariano-bova\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.discoverscilla.com\\\/mariano-bova\\\/\",\"name\":\"Mariano Bova - 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