All Sculptures

The Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi is a sculpture in Vicenza, located in the historical center of the city, in Piazza Castello.   SHORT HISTORY The statue was sculpted by Ettore Ferrari, and inaugurated on August 21, 1887, on the occasion of the 27th anniversary of Garibaldi’s entry into Reggio Calabria. The inauguration took place under heavy rain.   HOW TO GET THERE The Monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi is located about 550 meters away from the Vicenza railway station. The closest bus stop is near the monument, in Piazza Castello, on the bus Lines 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 10 and 18.

Dama Ignuda (Naked Lady) is a beautiful sculpture located in Via dei Rossi, in Siena.   SHORT HISTORY The sculpture was comissioned by the Contrada del Bruco to the sculptor Pier Luigi Olla, and placed on the wall of the building in Via dei Rossi in 1995. Pier Luigi Olla was born in Pistoia in 1939, but he lives in Siena since 1946, where he alternates his work as a teacher with sculpture. He is a contemporary artist, who carries forward the ancient tradition of Sienese sculpture. Pier Luigi Olla worked for the Palio di Siena, making costumes, flags, heraldic symbols, as well as the banner for the Palio of 1976. Contrada del Bruco (Contrada of the Caterpillar) is one of the 17 contrade (districts) of the city, which competes every year in the Palio di Siena.   DESCRIPTION The sculpture depicts a naked young woman partially hidden behind curtains. The work of Pier Luigi Olla looks like another window on the wall, and you can easily pass it without noticing it.   HOW TO GET THERE Dama Ignuda is located about 1.6 kilometers away from the Siena railway station. The closest bus stop, Porta Ovile, is located about 260 Read more [...]

The Statue of San Corrado is a bronze sculpture depicting Saint Conrad of Piacenza, the patron saint of Noto, located in the eastern part of the city, in Piazzale Luigi Adorno.   THE SAINT Corrado Confalonieri was born in 1290 in the town of Calendasco, now a municipality in the Province of Vicenza, and died while in prayer, kneeling before a crucifix, on February 19, 1351, in Netum (Noto Antica). At his request, he was buried at the Church of St. Nicholas. After the city was struck by earthquake in the 1690s, his body was transferred to the new church of the same name built in the relocated city, now called Noto. Pope Leo X beatified Conrad on July 12, 1515, and permitted the town of Noto to celebrate his feast day on February 19. On June 2, 1625, he was canonized by Cardinal Odoardo Farnese, in a solemn ceremony held at the Cathedral of Piacenza.   THE STATUE The statue of Saint Conrad of Piacenza, caught in the act of blessing the faithful, was inaugurated in 1955 on the occasion of the solemn patronal feast held every year on the last Sunday of August. The sculpture, about 2 meters Read more [...]

The Monument to Bella Italia, officially a monument dedicated to the fallen of the Ten Days of Brescia, is a sculpture located in the northeast area of Piazza della Loggia, in Brescia. The sculpture is the work of Giovanni Battista Lombardi from 1864 and was donated to the city by King Vittorio Emanuele II.   SHORT HISTORY On the site where the monument stands today, there was originally a column with the Lion of Saint Mark on top, a sign of the domination of the Republic of Venice over the city of Brescia. The column was erected between 1454 and 1455, and near its base there were held, for centuries, the executions of those condemned to death, in front of a large public. Finally demolished in 1797 by the revolutionaries, it left an empty space which was filled a few decades later, in 1864, by the new monument. The statue was conceived in the full Italian Unification climate to commemorate the fallen of the Ten Days of Brescia and was executed by the sculptor Giovanni Battista Lombardi at the behest of Vittorio Emanuele II. The inauguration took place in 1864, and the sculpture still occupies the northeastern portion of the Read more [...]

There are at least two things in Polignano a Mare which remind of the great Italian singer Domenico Modugno. The first is the seafront which bears his name, located in the northwestern part of the city, and the second is the statue dedicated to him, in the immediate vicinity.   THE ARTIST Domenico Modugno was born in Polignano a Mare, on January 9, 1928. When he was little, his father taught him to play the guitar and accordion. He wrote his first song at the age of 15. Later, he became a leading figure in theater, television, radio and cinematography. Domenico Modugno won the San Remo Music Festival – the most popular Italian song contest, four times. He starred in 45 films and recorded 230 songs. His most famous song, Nel Blu Dipinto di Blu, universally known as Volare, was released in 1958 and became one of the best-known songs in the world, translated into more than 20 languages. On August 26, 1993, Domenico Modugno held in Polignano a Mare the last major concert of his career, attended by 70,000 people. One year later, he died of heart attack on the island of Lampedusa.   THE STATUE The statue, three Read more [...]

The Spire of Sant’Oronzo is a column dedicated to Saint Orontius of Lecce, placed in the heart of Ostuni, between the main square of the city, Piazza della Libertà, and the small but beautiful square Piazza Sant’Oronzo. Saint Orontius, a Christian martyr, is venerated by the Roman Catholic Church, being considered the first Bishop of Lecce. Each year, a three-day festival is held in Ostuni between August 25 and 27, in his honor.   SHORT HISTORY The Spire of Sant’Oronzo was built in 1771 by the architect Giuseppe Greco. The column is an ex-voto strongly desired by the faithful to thank the Saint, who protected the city from the plague and the famine in the 18th century.   ARCHITECTURE The spire is about 20 meters in height and was built in Baroque style. The testimony of perennial devotion to the protector of the city is quoted in Latin on epigraphic plates, supported by angels and placed on the first order of the column, on each of the four faces. The next order is crowned by a beautiful balustrade, with four statues on its corners: San Biagio, Sant’Antonio da Padova, Sant’Irene and San Gregorio Armeno, all minor patrons of the city. Read more [...]

The Monument to Ferdinand III of Habsburg-Lorraine is a sculpture in Arezzo, located in Piazza di Murello, not far from the Cathedral of Saints Donatus and Peter.   SHORT HISTORY The monument, executed by the Florentine artist Stefano Ricci, was placed at first in Piazza Grande, on April 13, 1822, and in 1932 it was moved to its current position. Ferdinand III of Habsburg-Lorraine was the Grand Duke of Tuscany from 1790 to 1801 and from 1814 to 1824, Grand Duke of Salzburg from 1803 to 1805, and Grand Duke of Würzburg between 1805 and 1814. The statue was erected in gratitude for his excellent work in the field of communication between Arezzo and Tuscany. Via Anconetana, at the time the main communication route with the Adriatic, was one of his projects.   DESCRIPTION The Duke is depicted with an ancient toga, crowned with oak leaves, symbol of virtue, strength, perseverance and loyalty. In his left hand holds the scepter, emblem of power, while at his feet lies a lion. The relief placed at the base of the monument is the work of the Aretine sculptor Ranieri Bartolini. The relief describes allegorically the union of the two tuscan rivers, Chiana Read more [...]

The Monument to Ferdinando I de’ Medici is a sculpture in Arezzo, located in Piazza del Duomo, on the steps leading to the Cathedral of Saints Donatus and Peter.   SHORT HISTORY Ferdinando I de’ Medici was Grand Duke of Tuscany between 1587 and 1609, and during his lordship Arezzo had a quiet period, both from political and economic point of view. The Duke distinguished himself for important economic, fiscal and social reforms. He continued the noble tradition of the Medici family in terms of patronage of art and culture. The sculpture was designed by Giambologna, or Jean Boulogne, known also as Giovanni da Bologna, the last great sculptor of Renaissance, but it was executed by Pierre Francheville (Pietro Francavilla), a French-Italian sculptor, at the beginning of the 17th century. The statue was erected by the people of Arezzo as a sign of gratitude for the reclamation of the Chiana Valley (Valdichiana), which was an important addition to the municipal territory.   HOW TO GET THERE The Monument to Ferdinando I de’ Medici is located about 900 meters away from the Arezzo railway station. The closest bus stop is in Via Ricasoli, a few meters away, on the bus Line Read more [...]

The Monument to Francesco Petrarca is a sculpture in Arezzo, located in the beautiful park of the city, Prato, on top of the San Pietro Hill. Francesco Petrarca, anglicized as Petrarch, was an Italian poet of early Renaissance, born in Arezzo on July 20, 1304.   SHORT HISTORY In 1902, a group of people formed the Committee for Honors of Francesco Petrarca, and decided to build a monument dedicated to the poet of Arezzo, on the occasion of the sixth centenary of his birth. In 1904, a competition was launched, and a Royal Decree provided the funds for the construction of the monument. However, the result was not satisfactory, and a second competition was held two years later, and a third one in 1907, when the design of Alessandro Lazzerini was chosen as the winner. On July 31, 1909, the contract was signed, but due to a series of delays the first stone was laid only on December 12, 1914. Then, the works were stopped during the First World War. In 1924, Benito Mussolini, head of the government, allocated the necessary funds to start the work. Thus, began the extraction of the marble blocks and their processing in the artist’s Read more [...]

Near the Spoleto train station, there is a monument that you can easily overlook. Its name is Teodelapio, which comes from one of the first Lombard dukes of Spoleto, who reigned in the 7th century, Theudelapius.   SHORT HISTORY The story began in 1962, at the fifth edition of the Festival dei Due Mondi (Festival of the Two Worlds), curated by Giovanni Carandente. In March 1962, Giovanni Carandente invited Alexander Calder to participate in the event. He asked him to create a piece of art that could serve as a triumphal arch at the entrance to the city and become its symbol. Alexander Calder was an American sculptor known for his Mobile sculptures, which are moving due to air currents, but also for the monumental stationary sculptures that are called Stabiles. The American sculptor designed a metal monument, kept today in the Carandente Museum, inside Palazzo Collicola. The sculpture was enlarged 27 times, being the first of many Stabiles of Calder and the only one on the Italian soil. 18 meters in height, the work is considered the first stationary monumental sculpture in the world.   HOW TO GET THERE It’s simple! The Teodelapio is right in front of the Read more [...]