Monument to Francesco Petrarca

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 workshop in Carrara.

The monument was inaugurated on November 25, 1928, in the presence of King Vittorio Emanuele III, the Minister of National Education Giuseppe Belluzzo and many other prominent personalities.

DESCRIPTION

A four-meter tall statue of Petrarch dominates the surroundings. He holds the poem Africa, with the Capitoline she-wolf nursing Romulus and Remus at his feet. On the front side, below, there is a basin with a sword cutting a snake, with reference to the Second Punic War, the subject of Africa.

Above the basin, a shield with the fratricidal struggle between the twins Eteocles and Polynice is placed between a ram, a symbol of war, and a yoke, an emblem of slavery. To the right of the shield, there is depicted the Italian Mother, who holds a child with one arm and the leg of her eldest son with the other.

On the left side of the monument, a winged Cupid is sculpted, and on the right side there is a Madonna and Child. Below the latter, a winged skull can be seen.

On the back side, there is the coronation of Petrarch as poet by senator Orso dell’Anguillara in 1341, in Rome. Finally, on the right, there is a medallion with the bust of Laura de Noves, the poet’s muse.

HOW TO GET THERE

The Monument to Francesco Petrarca is located about 1 kilometer away from the Arezzo railway station. The closest bus stop is Viale Buozzi Opp 5 – Prato, on the bus Line CS2, located about 120 meters away.