Ercole Drei

Ercole Drei was an Italian sculptor born in Faenza in 1886 and died in Rome in 1973. He began his artistic studies at the "Tommaso Minardi" School of Arts and Crafts in Faenza under the guidance of Antonio Berti, joining a local artistic circle at a young age. In 1904, he won a scholarship that allowed him to attend the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence, where he studied sculpture with Augusto Rivalta and painting with Giovanni Fattori, forming important cultural connections in Florence.
Throughout his career, Drei received numerous awards, including the Baruzzi Competition of the Municipality of Bologna in 1910 with his sculpture "Cassandra" and the Curlandese Prize from the Academy of Fine Arts of Bologna in 1912. He participated in the Venice Biennale in 1912 and won the national artistic scholarship for sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Rome in 1913.
His work soon focused on monumental sculpture, creating significant pieces such as the Fascist war memorial at the Certosa di Bologna, the statue of Hercules at the Stadio dei Marmi in Rome, and the monument to Alfredo Oriani at Colle Oppio. In 1940, he was named an academic of San Luca, and after World War II, he continued his artistic and institutional activities, serving on the Superior Council of Antiquities and Fine Arts. His oeuvre spans sculpture, drawing, and painting, marking an important contribution to 20th-century Italian art.