L'ingegnere Pietro Agosti, progettista della Sanremo Belle Époque,

In the 19th and 20th centuries, a remarkable architectural and artistic production flourished in Western Ligurian Riviera. It was due to the exceptional reorganization of the territory, the economic takeoff and social transformations brought with the nascent international tourism that the city of Sanremo has turned in one of the favorite destinations of Belle Époque (1880-1915). Reference point of local architectural production is Charles Garnier, designer of the Paris Opera. His presence sows the seed on which three generations of local architects and engineers will build upon. Outstanding among the others is Pietro Agosti (Bordighera 1873 - Rome 1930), leader of the third generation of designers, characterized by a greater rationalism. The creativity of the engineer, who began to practice in 1897, monopolizes the architectural production of Sanremo in the early 20th century and in this paper we consider his entire production, not only limited to the Western Liguria. Pietro Agosti is an interesting figure also from the human point of view: he was very engaged in the public and political activity. He was responsable for the protection of Public Property in Western Liguria, City Councilor from 1908 to 1913 and then, in 1927, he was named first “Podestà” of Sanremo. His life ended under mysterious circumstances in the roman catacombs of San Callisto in 1930.