Andy's Virtual Rome - Rome's Talking Statues

	~ Curious And Unusual ~ - 2 - Rome's Talking Statues

Pasquino, Marforio, Facchino, Madama Lucrezia, Abate Luigi, Babuino... Rome's 'talking statues'! In times when the pope ruled over the city with an iron fist, the powerful trembled in hearing the nicknames of these popular heroes carved in stone, as if they had been paladins made of flesh and blood, but most of all their feared they bitter tongues. In fact, these statues are the means by which Rome has always opposed arrogance and corruption of the ruling class with great sense of humour.

Since the early 16th century, late at night, satirical posters were hung to these statues, which stood on busy spots, so that in the morning everyone could read them (or have them read by someone, since a great majority of people were illiterate!) before they were taken away by the police. The six statues were also called all together 'the Congress of the Witty'.
The posters sometimes featured a poem, sometimes a joke; in most cases their satire was addressed to the pope. And the authors, of course, always remained obscure.
The six personages, which spoke on behalf of the people, were given popular nicknames.

The most famous of Rome's talking statues was, and still is, Pasquino. Since 1501, this figure stands in a small square at the back of piazza Navona; the square itself is now named after the curious statue.

"Pasquino' in an old etching (↑) and today, still with satirical posters (→)	Pasquino is the torso of a male figure, probably dating from the 3rd century BC; it is so badly preserved that it is impossible to tell whom it represents, probably king Menelaus or another hero of ancient Greece. Also the origin of the nickname remains a mystery; it is commonly said that the statue was once discovered near an old barber parlour (or according to others, a tavern), whose owner was called Pasquino. This tradition lasted until the 19th century, and the jokes left near the statue or hung to its neck were known as pasquinate. One of the most famous ones was against pope Urban VIII (a member of the Barberini family), who had Bernini remove the bronze parts from the Pantheon for the making of the huge canopy over the main altar in St.Peter's (1633): quod non fecerunt barbari, fecerunt Barberini ("what barbarians did not do, the Barberini did") was Pasquino's remark.

How much the popes hated and feared him can be told by the fact that the cantankerous Hadrian VI (1522-23), the only Dutch pope in history, even gave orders to hurl the statue into the river Tiber... But the early death of the pope enabled Pasquino to remain steadily in place.

Another popular statue is Marforio, a long, bearded reclining figure that decorates the courtyard of Palazzo Nuovo, a wing of the Capitoline Museums. It probably represents the allegory of a river (the Tiber?), or maybe Neptune, the god of seas. It once stood in the Roman Forum, but unlike most other remains it was not buried, thus remaining visible throughout the Middle Ages. It was removed from its original location in the late 16th century. For more details about this statue see Fountains, part III, page 8. Marforio was considered Pasquino's partner, as in some of the satires the two statues spoke to each other: usually, one asked questions about social problems, the pope's government, and similar themes, and the other one replied with a joke.	Marforio, in the Capitoline Museums

Another popular statue is Marforio, a long, bearded reclining figure that decorates the courtyard of Palazzo Nuovo, a wing of the Capitoline Museums. It probably represents the allegory of a river (the Tiber?), or maybe Neptune, the god of seas. It once stood in the Roman Forum, but unlike most other remains it was not buried, thus remaining visible throughout the Middle Ages. It was removed from its original location in the late 16th century. For more details about this statue see Fountains, part III, page 8.
Marforio was considered Pasquino's partner, as in some of the satires the two statues spoke to each other: usually, one asked questions about social problems, the pope's government, and similar themes, and the other one replied with a joke.

Marforio, in the Capitoline Museums

Among the minor 'talking statues' of Rome are the Facchino, Madama Lucrezia, Abate Luigi and the Babuino.

the Facchino fountain	The Facchino ("the porter") is a small fountain representing a male figure, whose face is very poorly preserved, in the attitude of pouring water from a cask; its robe is the typical costume that used to be worn in the 1500s by the porters guild, whence the figure's name. The statue once hung on the façade of a building along via del Corso, about a hundred metres (or yards) off the central piazza Venezia, which today no longer exists, having been replaced in the 1700s by the much larger Palazzo De Carolis, today also known as the Palazzo del Banco di Roma. When the latter was built, the small fountain was preserved, but in 1874 it was moved to via Lata, just round the corner of its original location.	two images of water-sellers, from illustrations of the 16th-17th centuries

The fountain dates back to the second half of the 16th century, and according to a popular tradition it was inspired by a water-seller, i.e. a man whose work was to draw water from the river or from the very few extant fountains and sell it, door to door, moving around the city with a pair of casks like the one featured on the fountain, carried by a donkey or a mule.

Nobody knows exactly who carved the Facchino; being a fine work, despite its present condition, even Michelangelo was (wrongly) included among the range of authors.

Instead, a much more likely name is that of Jacopino del Conte, a renowned painter active around the mid 16th century, who painted several projects of city fountains (he often teamed up with the famous fountain-maker Giacomo Della Porta, see also the Fountains monography, part III), and for a certain time was also the owner of a smaller building that once stood in place of the aforesaid Palazzo De Carolis, from which the Facchino originally hung. Another statue is known as Madama Lucrezia ("Madam Lucretia"), and stands in a corner of Palazzetto Venezia, in piazza San Marco, a small square adjoining piazza Venezia. This huge marble bust, about 3 metres (10 feet) high, comes from a temple dedicated to Isis and represents a female figure, probably a priestess or maybe even Isis herself. The nickname comes from a well-known lady named Lucrezia d'Alagno, who lived in the 15th century. She was the mistress of the king of Naples Alfonso V of Aragon, who was already married. For this reason in 1457 she came to Rome and pleaded with the pope to let the king divorce, but no permission was given. One year later the king died; because of the hostility of his successor (his legitimate son Ferrante) towards her, the lady moved to Rome, where she lived near the above-mentioned square.	Madama Lucrezia

Instead, a much more likely name is that of Jacopino del Conte, a renowned painter active around the mid 16th century, who painted several projects of city fountains (he often teamed up with the famous fountain-maker Giacomo Della Porta, see also the Fountains monography, part III), and for a certain time was also the owner of a smaller building that once stood in place of the aforesaid Palazzo De Carolis, from which the Facchino originally hung.

Another statue is known as Madama Lucrezia ("Madam Lucretia"), and stands in a corner of Palazzetto Venezia, in piazza San Marco, a small square adjoining piazza Venezia. This huge marble bust, about 3 metres (10 feet) high, comes from a temple dedicated to Isis and represents a female figure, probably a priestess or maybe even Isis herself.
The nickname comes from a well-known lady named Lucrezia d'Alagno, who lived in the 15th century. She was the mistress of the king of Naples Alfonso V of Aragon, who was already married. For this reason in 1457 she came to Rome and pleaded with the pope to let the king divorce, but no permission was given. One year later the king died; because of the hostility of his successor (his legitimate son Ferrante) towards her, the lady moved to Rome, where she lived near the above-mentioned square.

Madama Lucrezia

Abate Luigi

FUI DELL'ANTICA ROMA UN CITTADINO
ORA ABATE LUIGI OGNUN MI CHIAMA
CONQUISTAI CON MARFORIO E CON PASQUINO
NELLE SATIRE URBANE ETERNA FAMA
EBBI OFFESE, DISGRAZIE E SEPOLTURA
MA QUI VITA NOVELLA E ALFIN SICURA I WAS A CITIZEN OF ANCIENT ROME
NOW EVERYBODY CALLS ME ABBOT LOUIS
WITH MARFORIO AND PASQUINO I CONQUERED
ETERNAL FAME IN URBAN SATIRE
I RECEIVED OFFENCES, MISTREATMENT AND BURIAL
BUT NEW LIFE HERE, AND SAFE, AT LAST

This short epitaph can be read on the base of the statue called Abate Luigi ("Abbot Louis") standing in piazza Vidoni, not far from piazza Navona, on the left side of Sant'Andrea della Valle's church. It features a standing figure wearing clothing in the late Roman fashion. Its nickname was probably chosen after the sacristan of the nearby Sudario church, who - according to a popular tradition - resembled very much the statue.
Piazza Vidoni was the original site of the Abbot, but through the years it changed location several times, poorly cared for, until in 1924 it was taken back to the original square.

The Babuino, archaic Italian for babbuino = "baboon", is a small statue of a reclining silenus (a Greek mythology woodland deity, similar to a satyr), now standing by the church of St.Athanasius of the Greeks, in the central via del Babuino. It acts as a decorative element for a very simple fountain, once used as a drinking-trough (see Fountains, part II page 2), on whose rim the old figure has been perching since the age of Renaissance.
The grinning figure was given this name because of its look, now even more grotesque because rather worn out by time.

up to a few years ago the wall behind the Babuino used to be covered with graffiti (below), maybe as a consequence of its 'talkative' nature; today (right →) it seems to have chosen meditation

Nowadays most of Rome's talking statues seem to have lost their speech. Only Pasquino is still faithful to tradition: his base always carries a selection of scorching poems, typically against the establishment. Obviously, the authors of the satirical verses no longer risk to land in jail, as they did in earlier times, but it is still a custom for them to leave the poems unsigned. And it is also a custom for passers-by of all ages to stop and read Pasquino's latest remarks.

Nowadays most of Rome's talking statues seem to have lost their speech. Only Pasquino is still faithful to tradition: his base always carries a selection of scorching poems, typically against the establishment. Obviously, the authors of the satirical verses no longer risk to land in jail, as they did in earlier times, but it is still a custom for them to leave the poems unsigned. And it is also a custom for passers-by of all ages to stop and read Pasquino's latest remarks.