Madama Lucrezia ( Romanesco: ''Madama Lugrezzia'') is one of the six "

talking statues Talking may refer to: * Speech, the product of the action of ''to talk'' * Communication by spoken words; conversation or discussion Other uses * "Talking" (The Rifles song), 2007 * "Talking" (A Flock of Seagulls song), 1983 * "Talking", a son ...

" of

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

. Pasquinades — irreverent

satire Satire is a genre of the visual, literary, and performing arts, usually in the form of fiction and less frequently non-fiction, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, often with the intent of shaming ...

s poking fun at public figures — were posted beside each of the statues from the 16th century onwards, written as if spoken by the statue, largely in answer to the verses posted at the sculpture called "

Pasquino Pasquino or Pasquin (Latin: ''Pasquillus'') is the name used by Romans since the early modern period to describe a battered Hellenistic-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the Parione district of Rome ...

" Madama Lucrezia was the only female "talking statue", and was the subject of competing verses by

and Marforio. Madama Lucrezia is a colossal

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

bust Bust commonly refers to: * A woman's breasts * Bust (sculpture), of head and shoulders * An arrest Bust may also refer to: Places * Bust, Bas-Rhin, a city in France *Lashkargah, Afghanistan, known as Bust historically Media * ''Bust'' (magazin ...

, about 3 metres high, sited on a plinth in the corner of a

piazza A town square (or square, plaza, public square, city square, urban square, or ''piazza'') is an open public space, commonly found in the heart of a traditional town but not necessarily a true geometric square, used for community gatherings. ...

between the

Palazzo Venezia The Palazzo Venezia or Palazzo Barbo (), formerly Palace of St. Mark, is a palazzo (palace) in central Rome, Italy, just north of the Capitoline Hill. The original structure of this great architectural complex consisted of a modest medieval hous ...

and the basilica of St. Mark. The statue is badly disfigured, and the original subject cannot be identified with certainty, but may represent the Egyptian goddess

Isis Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kin ...

(or of a priestess of Isis), or perhaps a portrait of the Roman empress Faustina. The bust was given to

Lucrezia d'Alagno Lucrezia d'Alagno (c. 1430 – September 23, 1479) was a noblewoman with whom King Alphonso V of Naples had fallen in love. Lucrezia was daughter of Nicholas d'Alagno and Covella Toraldo. Her father, of Amalfitan origin, was lord of Torre Ann ...

, the lover of

Alfonso d'Aragona Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

King of Naples The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies. Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501) House of Anjou In 1382, the Kin ...

; she moved to Rome after Alfonso's death in 1458.

Bibliography

*C. Rendina, ”Pasquino statua parlante”, in ''Roma ieri, oggi, domani'', n. 20, February 1990. Further bibliography is at

External links

Madama Lucrezia

''The Insider's Guide to Rome'', p.72
{{Talking statue of Rome Talking statues of Rome Rome R. IX Pigna Busts in Italy Sculptures of women in Italy

See also

Bibliography

External links