(b Murcia, bapt 12 May 1707; d Murcia, 2 March 1783). Spanish sculptor of Italian descent. He was trained by his father, Nicolás Salzillo (1672–1727), a Neapolitan sculptor who had settled in Murcia, whose first documented work is dated 1700. Francisco also studied with the Jesuits and was taught drawing and sculpture by the cleric and painter Manuel Sánchez ( fl 1731–9). He entered the Dominican Order in Murcia as a novice but left to take charge of his father’s studio at the latter’s death in 1727. Francisco was assisted by his brothers, Juan Antonio Salzillo and Patricio Salzillo, a priest, and by his sister, Inés Salzillo, who specialized in painting carved religious statues. In 1746 Francisco married Juana Vallejo Martínez, and in 1755 he was appointed escultor y modelista by the municipal government (ayuntamiento) and Inspector to the Inquisition for painting and sculpture in Murcia. In 1763 he established an academy, which later became a school of drawing and which he directed from 1779.