Monument to Virgil, Bronze monument in Piazza Virgiliana, Mantua, Italy.
The Monument to Virgil is a Carrara marble structure designed by architect Luca Beltrami, topped by a large bronze statue of the poet sculpted by Emilio Quadrelli. It stands in Piazza Virgiliana on the spot once occupied by the 1821 Anfiteatro Virgiliano, demolished in 1919.
In 1877 senator Giovanni Arrivabene set up a committee for the 1900th anniversary of Virgil's death, planning a new monument, but by 1883 only 26,000 of the projected 150,000 lire had been raised. The site was long debated before Piazza Virgiliana was chosen. The 1919 demolition of Giuseppe Cantoni's 1821 amphitheater cleared the spot; Luca Beltrami designed the Carrara marble base and Emilio Quadrelli the bronze statue, inaugurated on 21 April 1927.
The monument honors Virgil, one of Rome's greatest poets born near Mantua, whose works like the Aeneid shaped classical literature and remain widely read today. The plaza around the statue serves as a space where visitors can connect with the city's most celebrated literary figure.
The monument stands at the edge of Piazza Virgiliana toward Lago di Mezzo, not at its center, on the spot where the 1801 column was moved under Austrian rule. The square lies a short walk north of the Ducal Palace, and the statue can be viewed from the surrounding open ground.
The monument's final cost exceeded one million lire, covered by 400,000 lire collected by the committee founded in 1877 plus contributions from the Municipality of Mantua and the Italian State. The committee had originally budgeted 150,000 lire but by 1883 had gathered only 26,000.
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