Diego Martelli [SEP] country of citizenship
Diego Martelli
Diego Martelli (October 29, 1839 – November 20, 1896) was an Italian art critic who was one of the first supporters of Impressionism in Italy. He was a defender and associate of the Tuscan artists the Macchiaioli, whom he often hosted at his estate in Castiglioncello.
Martelli was born in Florence, the son of a road engineer. He studied natural sciences at the University of Pisa. In 1855, while still in his teens, he became acquainted with the group of artists who frequented the
chaplain to the Convict Establishment. For Martelli to work at the Establishment he had to become a British subject and swear allegiance to the Crown; he thus became the first Italian in WA to be a naturalised a British subject, although "matters of nationality or citizenship meant little to him". In January 1859, the Church of Sancta Maria in Toodyay was blessed by Bishop Joseph Serra. He also consecrated the Holy Trinity Church in York that Martelli had undertaken to build.
During his time at York and Toodyay, Martelli