Aristotele Fioravanti

Ridolfo Fioravanti, nicknamed Aristotele, was born in Bologna about 1415 into a family of architects and engineers, and won fame for the devices he used to rebuild noble towers there. He worked in Florence, Milan and Hungary before Ivan III invited him to Moscow in 1475.

From 1475 to 1479 he built the Kremlin's Dormition Cathedral on the model of the older cathedral in Vladimir, introducing new architectural influences.

One account says he later served as a military engineer in Ivan's campaigns; another says he died in captivity after asking to return to Italy. He died around 1486.