Italian Sculptor and decorator, there are many empty spots in his biography.
He was born in Italy, presumably in Genova. He immigrates with his family to Argentina and they settle in La Boca, in 1860.
In this neighborhood, Parodi models figureheads and works as a very talented crafts man. He also does sculpturing work. Among his pieces we can find a figure of General Mitre which was donated to the Porteño museum that bears his name, in 1967.
In a publication about immigrants in Argentina, a section dedicated to sculptors finds Carlos Skovgaard referring to the importance of considering this artist as one of the first to settle in the Riachuelo:
"[...] with Francisco Parodi, plastic art is first manifested in La Boca. This sculptor, who professed his love of art, arrives at the riviera during the XIX century and sets up his workshop a few meters from the house where Benito Quinquela Martín was born [...].”
He would then be followed by Américo Bonetti, Francisco Cafferata, the first native artist of this ribereña area, and later by Andrés Stoppa, Antonio Mariani, Decoroso Bonifanti, Eduardo Demartino and Alfredo Lazzari.
Francisco Parodi dies in Buenos Aires, in 1892.
His son, Alfieri Parodi, would also become a painter and would eventually be recognized for his marine scenes.