Marco Aurelio Zani de Ferranti

Zani de Ferranti was born in Bologna. He began on the violin, but switched to guitar at age 16. In 1820, he moved to Paris and later to Saint Petersburg, before settling in Belgium. He later toured in France, England, Italy, and the United States. Although praised by Hector Berlioz in 1859, as well as by Rossini and Paganini,[1] Zani de Ferranti found the 1850s to be a period of decline and financial difficulty.[2] He died in Pisa. His son, Giulio Cesare Ziani de Ferranti (who changed his family name from Zani de Ferranti to Ziani de Ferranti), moved from Belgium to Liverpool, where he became a portrait photographer, setting up a studio with father-in-law, the portrait artist William Scott. Giulio Cesare's son, the inventor Sebastian Ziani de Ferranti, established the electronic engineering firm Ferranti in the family name.