FOSCHI'NI, ANTONIO, born June 16, 1741, at Corfu, was the son of Ferrareso parents, and always called himself a native of Ferrara, because he had been brought up from his infancy in that city. His first professional studies was directed by his father chiefly towards engineering and hydraulics, but his own taste pointed out archi tecture as a more congenial pursuit, and to that be applied himself with the utmost diligence. Appointed to the professorship of archi tecture when Clement XIV. endeavoured to restore the University of Ferrara to its former splendour, Foschini laboured to impress upon the students the importance of attending to those fundamental princi ples which had been more or less disregarded or lost sight of, through aiming at superficial novelty without any freshness of invention for its basis. Yet greatly as his reputation increased, it did not shield him from the intrigues of enemies, who succeeded in at length dis possessing him of his office. He was afterwards nominated, in 1804, to a similar professorship in the university of Pavia, but declined to accept it. In like manner be refused the overtures made to him both from Vienna and Rome : his attachment to Ferrara, joined to his indifference for wealth, prevailing over all other considerations. He
remained at Ferrara till his death, December 14, 1803.
The principal building executed by him was the theatre at Ferrara, reputed one of the most spacious, well-arranged, and elegant structures of its kind in Italy. It should be observed however that it is said to have been originally begun by Cosimo Morelli [Monema], Foschini afterwards improving upon his designs. What would have added both to his own renown and that of Ferrara, was Foschini'a design for com pleting the great tower of the Duomo, which, had it been executed, I would have rendered the tower one of the loftiest in Europe, but the want of adequate funds caused the project to be laid aside. Unfor tunately, too, neither that nor any other of the numerous designs or manuscript treatises on architecture which he left at his death, has been published. The fame of the theatre of Ferrara is said to have brought him commissions for designs for others from Vienna, Verona, and Ancona ; the only other theatre known to have been executed from his designs, is one at Lendinara. The great hospital at Com machio is another edifice by him ; and shortly before his death he was engaged in preparing designs for a basilica at Bandeno, in the territory of Ferrara.