Born in Montelupo Fiorentino (Florence), in 1940, when he was 15, he was hired by the prestigious Marinelli Foundry in Florence as a retoucher and wax modeler. He studied drawing with the most famous painters in the area and from 1959 to 1961 he attended the School of Nude of the Academy of Fine Arts in Florence. Before to learn the art of modeling, Piero Bertelli learned the method of ” lost wax” process , finishing and retouching and the secrets of the patina. At the old foundry, in Via Corridoni , sculptors like Berti , Moschi , Innocenti, Tofanari and many others were used to ask Piero Bertelli to retouch their waxes and follow the casting of their work. During this long process, alongside sculptors, this boy 15 years old, while working at his wax still “tender” , expressing his love for plastic harmony of form paying much attention to figurative sculpture. This love drove him to study with the sculptor Terreni, who helped him, after the hard hours spent in the foundry, to face three years of the Free School of Nude of the Florentine Academy, where Professor Settala used to teach. Bertelli managed the Marinelli Foundry until 1998 when he retired. Today continues his work as a sculptor and a collaborative relationship with the foundry. In 1970 he received the ” National Award for Sport and the Arts ” at the Palazzo dei Congressi in Florence and the prize ” Lyceum” for the Art of Sculpture in Milan in 1984 . His most important sculptures are: “Patrizia” or the ” Woman at a Mirror” the fountain of “Marlyns”. He permanently exhibits his works at the prestigious art gallery ” Peter Bazzanti and Son ” in Florence.
