Romano Romanelli (14 May 1882 – 25 September 1968) was an Italian artist, writer, and naval officer. He is best known for his sculptures and his medals. Romanelli was born in Florence, the son of sculptor Raffaello Romanelli. Romano's works occupy an important place in the Avant-Garde movement and form part of the artistic legacy of the Romanelli dynasty, which continues to this day. He is buried in the Soffiano cemetery in Florence. Personal life Florentine by descendant, on his mother's side of Francesco Ferrucci, the famous Florentine Military Commissioner of the Medici family and a ship-owner, and on his father's side the son and grandson of renowned sculptors. His grandfather Pasquale Romanelli had been a collaborator of Lorenzo Bartolini, his father was the acclaimed and talented Raffaello Romanelli. He was a decorated Naval officer in the Italian Navy. As a commanding officer in Gibraltar, Romano was to meet Dorothea Hayter, and she would become his wife in 1925. She was the daughter of Rev. William Thomas Baring Hayter. They had three children - a son, Raffaello Romanelli (b. 1926), and two daughters, Costanza (b. 1928) married to Bettino, 31st Baron Ricasoli (b.1922, d.2009) and Ilaria (b.1931) married to Arnaud Faure (b.1930-d.2015). He was also a wine producer creating at the turn of the 20th century the Tenuta di Riseccoli winery in Greve in Chianti. He also held farms in Somalia, on the Jubba River, where he had plantations of banana trees and grapefruits. In 1965 his wife, whilst driving to the local hospital she had created, was sadly murdered by natives. In 2012, his daughters Costanza and Ilaria donated their collection of around two thousand drawings by their father to the Florentine Galleria d’Arte Moderna housed in the Palazzo Pitti. Naval service As a boy under the guidance of his father, Romano showed an aptitude for sculpting, and it seemed that he would follow the family tradition of sculpture. But Romano first found a career in the Italian Navy. After studying Mathematics at Pisa University, Romano attended the Italian Naval Academy at Livorno. As a cadet and junior officer in the Italian Navy, he made five voyages, visiting the Mediterranean, North America, and Europe including the Azores and Madeira. He served for three years in the Far East, including China, Japan and Siberia, the Dutch and British East Indies, the Indian Ocean, and the Red Sea. He left service