Statuary, Monuments & Structures
in the Villa Comunale
This
is n.3 in a series. To part 1; part 2;
part
4;
part
5;
part 6.
On the left, below, is another of the statues atop the east entrance to the Villa. It, too, is by Andrea Violani and is a copy of an original in the Louvre. It depicts Selinus with the child Bacchus. Bacchus is the Latin name for the Greek, Dionysus, the god of wine. Obviously, in this version, he is an infant and still learning the ropes on his way to full-blown wino-hood. Not to worry; he is in the arms of Selinus, his teacher and faithful companion, described in sources as an old satyr or old rustic God of the dance of the wine-press.
This
is poet Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907), the
first Italian to win the Nobel Prize for literature
(1906). He was and still is generally regarded as the
national poet of the then young and new nation state
of modern Italy. His poetry evokes the glories of the
classical age and the pastoral purity of ancient Italy
and aims at finally restoring that same sense of
"Italy" to a long-fragmented people. Carducci was,
indeed, a fervent supporter of the risorgimento, the
movement to unify Italy in the 19th century. Of the
many busts of "civilians" in the Villa Comunale, this
appears to be the only one of a person not directly
connected to Naples and may be seen simply as a
tribute to Italy's greatest poet of the age. The bust
is located near the west end of the long Dohrn
Aquarium building, at one of the side exits of the
park. It faces out to the south, directly over the
seaside road. It is the work of Calabrian sculptor,
Saverio Gatto (1877-1962) and was erected in 1915. The
bust is inscribed with a fragment of Carducci's
poetry.
On the left, below, is Faun Carrying a Goat-kid. It is the first statue on the right after you enter the east entrance. It is copy by Violani of an ancient original and was done in 1760, not too long after Violani started sculpting to populate the gardens of Caserta. There is no indication when it was moved to the Villa Comunale.
This is the
largest monument in the Villa Comunale. It is
a tribute to the great Neapolitan philosopher,
Giambattista Vico (1668-1744). (See this link for the main entry
on his life.) The monument is not only the largest,
but it has the weirdest story behind it. The
monument in marble was the idea of prince Leopold of
Bourbon (1813-1860), the uncle of the last king of
the Two Sicilies (aka Kingdom of Naples), Francis
II. And—this is the good part—prince Leopold did it himself! He was
the only one in the royal family interested in
sculpture, or at least the only one with the
ability to put his hammer and chisel where his
mouth was. Not only that, he was a revolutionary
who agitated for the overthrow of the Bourbons
and the unification of Italy. Revisionist art
historians have proposed the idea that the
monument was the work not of the prince but
rather of his pupils, Marcinise Onofrio Buccini
(1825-96).
On the left, below, is another of the statues atop the east entrance to the Villa. It, too, is by Andrea Violani and is a copy of an original in the Louvre. It depicts Selinus with the child Bacchus. Bacchus is the Latin name for the Greek, Dionysus, the god of wine. Obviously, in this version, he is an infant and still learning the ropes on his way to full-blown wino-hood. Not to worry; he is in the arms of Selinus, his teacher and faithful companion, described in sources as an old satyr or old rustic God of the dance of the wine-press.
 |
 |
|
On
the right is The
Abduction of Proserpina by Pluto.
It was put in place in 1860 for the
foundation of the "Salvator
Rosa" Society of Fine Arts. This is a copy
by Violani of the original by Gian Lorenzo
Bernini. The original is currently in the
Galleria
Borghese in Rome. In mythology,
Proserpina is one of the Roman goddesses
in various myths dealing with life, death
and renewal symbolized in the cyclical
changes of the seasons.
|
|
This
is poet Giosuè Carducci (1835-1907), the
first Italian to win the Nobel Prize for literature
(1906). He was and still is generally regarded as the
national poet of the then young and new nation state
of modern Italy. His poetry evokes the glories of the
classical age and the pastoral purity of ancient Italy
and aims at finally restoring that same sense of
"Italy" to a long-fragmented people. Carducci was,
indeed, a fervent supporter of the risorgimento, the
movement to unify Italy in the 19th century. Of the
many busts of "civilians" in the Villa Comunale, this
appears to be the only one of a person not directly
connected to Naples and may be seen simply as a
tribute to Italy's greatest poet of the age. The bust
is located near the west end of the long Dohrn
Aquarium building, at one of the side exits of the
park. It faces out to the south, directly over the
seaside road. It is the work of Calabrian sculptor,
Saverio Gatto (1877-1962) and was erected in 1915. The
bust is inscribed with a fragment of Carducci's
poetry.On the left, below, is Faun Carrying a Goat-kid. It is the first statue on the right after you enter the east entrance. It is copy by Violani of an ancient original and was done in 1760, not too long after Violani started sculpting to populate the gardens of Caserta. There is no indication when it was moved to the Villa Comunale.
 |
 |
| Past
the midway point through the
Villa Comunale on the main promenade is an
obelisk (photo, right). I approached it with
some trepidation. (Maybe it was a Masonic
ray-gun.) There is no inscription on it,
anywhere. (See how clever they are?!) As it
turns out, you don't need an inscription. As
long as the sun is out, the obelisk works
just fine. It's a sundial, or more
precisely, the gnomon of a sundial, the
center-pin that casts the shadow that
touches markers on a semi-circle laid out in
front to tell you what time it is. I didn't
find any, but I didn't look very hard. I
have a wristwatch. The obelisk was erected
in 1834. |
|
This is the
largest monument in the Villa Comunale. It is
a tribute to the great Neapolitan philosopher,
Giambattista Vico (1668-1744). (See this link for the main entry
on his life.) The monument is not only the largest,
but it has the weirdest story behind it. The
monument in marble was the idea of prince Leopold of
Bourbon (1813-1860), the uncle of the last king of
the Two Sicilies (aka Kingdom of Naples), Francis
II. And—this is the good part—prince Leopold did it himself! He was
the only one in the royal family interested in
sculpture, or at least the only one with the
ability to put his hammer and chisel where his
mouth was. Not only that, he was a revolutionary
who agitated for the overthrow of the Bourbons
and the unification of Italy. Revisionist art
historians have proposed the idea that the
monument was the work not of the prince but
rather of his pupils, Marcinise Onofrio Buccini
(1825-96).
END
OF PART THREE
to main index to art portal urban & architecture portal to top of this page
© 2002 - 2023