The 'Talking Statues' of Rome

[Tripatini]

by Marco Pontuali  The Eternal City is, of course, famously an enormous trove of outdoor public art. Not just buildings and monuments but also hundreds upon hundreds of statues, from classical antiquity through the 20th century. And about a particular group of of these statues, well, therein, as they say, lies a tale. Beginning in the 16th and 17th centuries, certain statues, by virtue of their locations on some of Rome's busiest streets, became outlets for cutting anonymous satire and propaganda directed at the high and mighty - especially the popes of the day. The most famous,Il Pasquino (right), dates back to... keep reading