Ferdinando Ruggieri (1691 - 1741). Ferdinando Ruggeri was born on April 25, 1687 in Florence as the son of Giovanni Battista, stage and costume designer at the court of Prince Ferdinando de Medici, and Chiara Petri, the fourth of seven sons. Ferdinando began his training under Giovanni Battista Foggini. From November 1712 to 1714, with the support of the Medici, he was in Rome to study architecture. His first and most important contact was probably the one with Carlo Fontana. In Rome, Ferdinando could also rely on the support and relationships of his brother Orazio, who looked after one of the most important Roman patrons, Cardinal Pietro Ottoboni, the first patron of Filippo Juvarra. Fontana and Juvarra may have introduced Ferdinando to the activities of the Accademia di San Luca. Until the beginning of the 1730s, Ruggieri's main occupation was as a copperplate engraver. He did not receive his first documented commission as an architect until 1725, when he was brought in for small work in the Serristori Palace on the Arno. His masterpiece is the facade of the San Firenze complex. He also worked on the Palazzo Bastogi, formerly Capponi, on the Palazzo di Gino Capponi of the brothers Scipione and Francesco Maria Capponi around 1740. He was also responsible for the reconstruction of the Santa Felicita Church. Ruggieri was commissioned to renovate the Basilica of San Lorenzo, which showed static instability, and to complete the facade. The work was carried out with great care. In June 1740 construction began on the new bell tower, which was completed in July of the following year, shortly after Ferdinando's death. The project for the dome of the princely chapel was more ambitious. However, Ruggieri's plan was never carried out. He also worked in Siena and in Empoli, where he oversaw the reconstruction of the Collegiate Church of Sant'Andrea, for which he completed the two-tone marble facade, using the Tuscan-Romanesque style of the lower part, faithfully maintained.