Colonna Dell'Immacolata, Palermo on:
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The Colonna dell'Immacolata Concezione is a
The work was commissioned during the rule of Sicily by King Charles VI of Naples, and designed by Tommaso Maria Napoli for this piazza, then known a Piazza Imperiale. Construction took place from 1724 to 1726, and was completed by Giovanni Amico.
Atop a plinth made with white Carrara marble is a column made from gray Billiemi marble. The column was shortened to allow for the priest to see the Madonna from the main altar through the large window on the main facade. Perched on the top of the column in the bronze statue of the Immaculate Conception, sculpted by Giovan Battista Ragusa. Bronze depictions of four archangels, Gabriel, Michael, Rafael and Uriele, are at the base of the monument.
Initially the plinth of the column also displayed bronze statues of Charles VI of Naples and his wife Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick. In 1750, these were switched for statues of Charles V of Naples and his wife Maria Amalia Walburga. After 1945, these were replaced by order of the then Cardinal and Archbishop of Palermo, Provincial website
tourism entry. This replicates the ceremony established in 1953 in Rome for their Column of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza Mignanelli, towards the south east part of Piazza di Spagna.
monumental sculpture
The term monumental sculpture is often used in art history and criticism, but not always consistently. It combines two concepts, one of function, and one of size, and may include an element of a third more subjective concept. It is often used fo ...
, whose centerpiece is a bronze statue of the Virgin of the Immaculate Conception atop a column, erected in 1631 on Piazza San Domenico in Palermo
Palermo ( ; ; , locally also or ) is a city in southern Italy, the capital (political), capital of both the autonomous area, autonomous region of Sicily and the Metropolitan City of Palermo, the city's surrounding metropolitan province. The ...
, Sicily
Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...
. The monument, which stands in front of the church of San Domenico is also referred to as the ''Colonna di San Domenico'' or ''Monumento all'Immacolata''. The 18th-century monument falls within the tradition for example, of the ''guglia'' or spire monuments common to Naples.
History
The work was commissioned during the rule of Sicily by King Charles VI of Naples, and designed by Tommaso Maria Napoli for this piazza, then known a Piazza Imperiale. Construction took place from 1724 to 1726, and was completed by Giovanni Amico.
Atop a plinth made with white Carrara marble is a column made from gray Billiemi marble. The column was shortened to allow for the priest to see the Madonna from the main altar through the large window on the main facade. Perched on the top of the column in the bronze statue of the Immaculate Conception, sculpted by Giovan Battista Ragusa. Bronze depictions of four archangels, Gabriel, Michael, Rafael and Uriele, are at the base of the monument.
Initially the plinth of the column also displayed bronze statues of Charles VI of Naples and his wife Elizabeth Christina of Brunswick. In 1750, these were switched for statues of Charles V of Naples and his wife Maria Amalia Walburga. After 1945, these were replaced by order of the then Cardinal and Archbishop of Palermo, Ernesto Ruffini
Ernesto Ruffini (19 January 1888 – 11 June 1967) was an Italian Cardinal (Catholicism), cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served as Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Palermo, Archbishop of Palermo from 1945 until his death, and was elevated to ...
, who replaced them with the still-present statues of Pius IX
Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...
, who promulgated the dogma of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...
in 1864; and Pius XII
Pope Pius XII (; born Eugenio Maria Giuseppe Giovanni Pacelli; 2 March 18769 October 1958) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 2 March 1939 until his death on 9 October 1958. He is the most recent p ...
, who promulgated the dogma of the Assumption of Mary
The Assumption of Mary is one of the four Catholic Mariology#Dogmatic teachings, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Pope Pius XII defined it on 1 November 1950 in his apostolic constitution as follows:
It leaves open the question of w ...
in 1950.
The devotion to the Marian veneration of the Immaculate Conception
The Immaculate Conception is the doctrine that the Virgin Mary was free of original sin from the moment of her conception. It is one of the four Mariology, Marian dogmas of the Catholic Church. Debated by medieval theologians, it was not def ...
, and its underlying assertion has thrived in Southern Italy. In 1624, the Senate of Palermo passed a decree vowing, with arms if necessary, to defend the dogma of the Immaculate Conception. In 1954, Cardinal Ruffino also started the tradition of having a fireman, using a fire-truck ladder to place a wreath of flowers at the feet of the Madonna.tourism entry. This replicates the ceremony established in 1953 in Rome for their Column of the Immaculate Conception in Piazza Mignanelli, towards the south east part of Piazza di Spagna.
References
Sicily Monuments and memorials in Palermo 1726 in Italy {{Italy-sculpture-stub