Valerio Simini ’78 *81

An exceptionally cultured architect and author, Valerio died Nov. 5, 2014, of an aneurysm at his home in Lucca, Italy.

Valerio, who spoke four languages fluently, was born in Istanbul and raised in Rome, Cairo, and Montevideo. He studied at the British School of Montevideo, then at Princeton, where he earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree in architecture.

He and his roommates, Charles Dale and Carlos Touzet, were privileged to have a kitchen in their suite, and “often eschewed Cap and Gown fare in favor of multi-ethnic feasts ‘chez nous’ — sought-after commodities in then-culinary-bereft Princeton,” recalls Dale.

After a stint with the Princeton Energy Group, Valerio opened a studio in Washington, D.C., with Peter Brock ’76, who praised his encyclopedic knowledge and deep understanding of architecture and many other forms of culture, including Pink Floyd. His work won many national and regional awards.

In 1995, Valerio relocated to Lucca, focusing on private-sector projects of elegance, rigor, and harmony with the surrounding environment. He was widely loved in his adopted city, where he contributed a meticulously researched book about the historic church and square beside his son’s elementary school. To his wife, Giuseppina Pesci, and son, Alberto, the class extends its deepest condolences.