At the centre of his research activity is the study of the
architecture and urbanism of the early modern and modern Italian
city, from the Renaissance through Neoclassicism. He has written
numerous studies on Italian architects active between the fifteenth
and the nineteenth centuries, from Leon Battista Alberti to
Giovanni Antolini. In recognition of his innovative studies on the
strategies of urban development of cities of the Po valley during
the Renaissance, the Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei awarded him the
prestigious prize of the Ministero dei Beni Culturali in History
and History of Geography in 2000.
Francesco Ceccarelli has curated important international
exhibitions in architectural history, such as Une renaissance
Singuliere. La cour des Este àFerrare (Brussels
2003 and Ferrara 2004), as well as organizing international
conferences and symposia, such as Les Maisons de l'Empereur.
Residenze di corte nell'Italia napoleonica (Lucca 2004);
Delizie in villa. Il giardino rinascimentale e i suoi
committenti (Ferrara 2005); Domenico e Pellegrino Tibaldi.
Arte e architettura a Bologna nel Secondo Cinquecento (Bologna
2006); and Delizie estensi e architetture di villa nel
Rinascimento italiano ed europeo (Ferrara 2006).
He is author of numerous scholarly articles, as well as the
award-winning book La cittàdi Alcina. Architettura
e politica alle foci del Po nel tardo Cinquecento, (Il Mulino,
Bologna, 1998 and 1999). With C. Cavicchi and R. Torlontano he
has edited the volume Giovan Battista Aleotti e l'architettura
(Diabasis, Reggio Emilia, 2003). Between 2003 and 2005, Francesco
Ceccarelli has contributed significant chapters to Electa's series
on the history of Italian architecture, in the volumes on the
second half of the Cinquecento, on the Seicento, and on the
Ottocento. Recently, he co-edited the volumes Delizie in Villa.
Il giardino rinascimentale e i suoi committenti and Delizie
estensi e architetture di villa nel Rinascimento italiano ed
europeo, both published by Leo S. Olschki.