(b Ferrara, 21 March 1885; d Rome, 4 Jan 1958). Italian painter, sculptor and writer. He began painting and sculpting at a very young age in his native city. In 1902 he was apprenticed to a wood-carver in Genoa and in the following year he took part in the activities of the artistic and literary publication Ebe. In 1910 he moved to Rome, where he lived for the rest of his life. Melli rapidly established himself as a prominent figure in Roman artistic circles. In 1914 he became a member of the steering committee of the Rome Secession, at which he showed Woman with Hat (Zoe Lampronti) (bronze, h. 375 mm, c. 1913; Rome, G.N.A. Mod.), and, with Vincenzo Constantini, Garzia Fioresi and Cipriano Efisio Oppo, founded the 'Gruppo Moderno Italiano'. In 1918, together with Mario Broglio (1891-1948) and others, he founded the journal VALORI PLASTICI. He showed his paintings in the exhibitions that it promoted: a travelling exhibition in Germany in 1921 and one in Florence in 1922.
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