Antonio di Pietro Averlino, whose more famous…

Antonio di Pietro Averlino, whose more famous name “Filarete” means “a lover of virtue”, may have worked in Florence under Lorenzo Ghiberti, who gave him his name.

Filarete had been expelled from Rome in the mid fifteenth century, after being accused of attempting to steal the head of John the Baptist; ha had moved to Venice and then eventually to Milan.

There he became a ducal engineer and worked on a variety of architectural projects for the next fifteen years.

According to his biographer, Vasari, Filarete died in Rome around 1469.

A commission granted by Pope Eugene IV meant that Filarete, over the course of twelve years, cast the bronze central doors for Old St. Peter's Basilica in Rome, which were completed in 1445.

Although they were created during the Renaissance, the doors have distinct Byzantine influences and seem tied to the Medieval era.

From 1452, Filarete works in Milan for Francesco Sforza at the Castello and then at the Ospedale Maggiore, where he serves as superintendent.