Egyptomania in Ljubljana (2)

Another egyptomanian monument by Plečnik in Ljubljana is the Zois pyramid (1927) in front of the Ljubljana University. Žiga (Sigismund) Zois (1747-1819), son of an Italian father and a Slovene mother was the richest, and according to some of his contemporaries, the most educated man of his time in Slovenia. He was the central persona of the Slovene 18th century cultural life. He travelled across the Western Europe, spoke many languages and became a deist and a freemason under the influence of age of enlightenment. He spent his time with educated men in his house in Ljubljana. He was their teacher, leader and sponsor.