Thanks to fellow Casalmaggiore-born Giovanni Vicenza Ponzone’s financial support, Diotti went to Parma during 1795 and 1797 to follow the studies in the city’s Academy under the guidance of Gaetano Callani.
A copy of the sixteenth’s century painting San Pietro in carcere liberato dall’angelo by Malosso dated back to this period and it was originally located at Saint Peter in Vincoli’s Oratory in Vicobellignano. Giovanni Vicenza Ponzone had the original painting replaced – because the humidity damaged it – with this copy, which was by his protégé. The work arrived from Scuola Bottoli, where it was transferred after the demolition of the Oratory in 1937.
The original is visible today in St. Stephan Cathedral. San Pietro was donated from Vicenza Ponzone’s heirs: Giovanni Vicenza Ponzone was, in fact, a promoter of the construction of the new temple thanks to a bequest.
Scuola di disegno "Bottoli" Fund
