Monument to Pietro Metastasio, Rome
The Monument to Pietro Metastasio is a memorial statue dedicated to the Roman poet and dramatist Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782); it is located along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, at the piazza before the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (Piazza di Chiesa Nuova), in central Rome, Italy.
In 1873, a committee of artists, led by
In the early 20th century, with the widening and embellishment of the Corso Vittorio Emanuele II, the statue was moved to its present location, which was close to the birth-house of Metastasio, located in via dei Cappellari #30. In addition, some of Metastasio's sacred works had been first presented at the adjacent Oratory of Filippo Neri. Metastasio himself was buried in Vienna, where he lived the last four decades of his life.
The marble statue rises on a high pedestal. Metastasio stands beside a short column stacked with books. In his right hand he holds a writing quill, and on his right a pamphlet. He looks down towards the piazza. The base is ornamented with the symbols of the melodramatic arts: a mask and a lyre. The rear has a shield with the lupa, symbol of Rome.[3]
References
- ^ Atti del Consiglio comunale di Roma (1882); pages 153-156.
- ^ Il progresso (1882), pages 182-183.
- ^ Sovraintendenza of Roma, entry on monument.