12 Notable alumni of IUAV University of Venice
Updated: May 31, 2026 EliteDegrees
IUAV University of Venice is ranked #1,979 in the world and #60 in Italy by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 12 notable alumni from IUAV University of Venice sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with IUAV University of Venice won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Sergio Staino
1940-2023 (aged 83)
screenwriter
satirist
film director
comics artist
Sergio Staino was an Italian comics author, satirist, and film director.
2. Giancarlo De Carlo
1919-2005 (aged 86)
urban planner
architect
Giancarlo De Carlo was an Italian architect. He was a member of the Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and became closely linked to Urbino as its town planner and creator of its master plan. Throughout his architecture career, he advocated for the consideration of human, physical, cultural, and historical forces in design.
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3. Smiljan Radic
1965-. (aged 61)
conferencier
painter
architect
Smiljan Radic is a Chilean architect of Croatian heritage.
4. Lella Vignelli
1934-2016 (aged 82)
designer
businessperson
architect
jewelry designer
Lella Vignelli was an Italian architect, designer, and businesswomen. She collaborated closely throughout much of her life with her husband Massimo Vignelli, with whom she founded Vignelli Associates in 1971.
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5. Francesco Bandarin
1950-. (aged 76)
urban planner
architect
Francesco Bandarin is an Italian architect. He was Director of the UNESCO World Heritage Centre from 2000 to 2010 and then Assistant Director-General of UNESCO for Culture from 2010 to 2018.
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6. Inés Moisset
1967-. (aged 59)
architect
scientist
Inés Moisset is an Argentine architect, known for her research into the theory and history of the discipline.
7. Homayoun Ershadi
1947-2025 (aged 78)
television actor
actor
film actor
architect
Homayoun Ershadi was an Iranian actor. He was known for his debut role in Taste of Cherry (1997), and several subsequent Iranian and other films, including European films like Agora or Hollywood films like The Kite Runner and Zero Dark Thirty.
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8. Luigi Brugnaro
1961-. (aged 65)
sports executive
entrepreneur
politician
Luigi Brugnaro is an Italian conservative politician and entrepreneur who has been the mayor of Venice since 15 June 2015. Since July 2021, he is also president of Coraggio Italia (CI), a political party affiliated with the centre-right coalition.
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9. Mario Botta
1943-. (aged 83)
university teacher
teacher
designer
architect
restorer
Mario Botta is a Swiss architect. At age fifteen, Botta dropped out of secondary school and apprenticed with the architectural firm of Carloni and Camenisch in Lugano. After three years, he went to the Art College in Milan for his baccalaureate, and then to Università Iuav di Venezia for his professional degree in 1969. During his time in Venice, Botta...
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10. Massimo Vignelli
1931-2014 (aged 83)
graphic designer
architect
interior designer
university teacher
designer
Massimo Vignelli was an Italian designer active in graphic design, industrial design, furniture, and architecture. He worked within the modernist tradition, emphasizing simplicity through the use of basic geometric forms. With his wife Lella, Vignelli helped establish the New York office of Unimark International and Vignelli Associates.
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11. Gaetano Pesce
1939-2024 (aged 85)
university teacher
industrial designer
entrepreneur
jewelry designer
performance artist
Gaetano Pesce was an Italian architect and a design pioneer of the 20th century. Pesce was born in La Spezia in 1939, and he grew up in Padua and Florence. During his 50-year career, Pesce worked as an architect, urban planner, and industrial designer. His outlook is considered broad and humanistic, and his work is characterized by an inventive use...
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12. Alejandro Alavena
1967-. (aged 59)
university teacher
architect
Alejandro Gastón Aravena Mori is a Chilean architect and executive director of the firm Elemental S.A. He won the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 2016, and was the director and curator of the 2016 Venice Biennale of Architecture.
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