Biography

Italian painter, part of a family of painters. Their workshop dominated art in Lodi in the 16th century. Martino Piazza and Albertino Piazza (1490-1528/9) were brothers, who frequently collaborated; both are documented at the Incoronata at Lodi in 1514. Martino's oeuvre has been reconstructed on the basis of two pictures, St John the Baptist (London, National Gallery) and an Adoration of the Shepherds (Milan, Ambrosiana), which bear the monogram MPP; he was an eclectic artist, indebted to Leonardo da Vinci. Albertino's more classical style is revealed in his Coronation of the Virgin (1519; Lodi, Incoronata).

Martino had three sons: Cesare Piazza (fl 1523; d ?1562), Callisto Piazza and Scipione Piazza, who was the youngest. Callisto was the dominant figure, and Cesare and Scipione worked with him in Brescia and Lodi. Fulvio (1536-after 1579) was the son of Callisto, and collaborated with him at the Incoronata, Lodi, and elsewhere.