The decision to erect a commemorative monument dedicated to Marco Minghetti (Bologna 1818 – Rome 1886), who served as Prime Minister of the unified Italy several times, was approved by Parliament immediately following the statesman’s death.
In 1888, the committee responsible for awarding the artistic contest approved the design by the sculptor Lio Gangheri and the architect Giacomo Misuraca. The work, which began the following year, was inaugurated in September 1895 in Piazza San Pantaleo. The choice of location was linked to the presence in the square of Palazzo Braschi, which was then the seat of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers and the Ministry of the Interior.
The monument consists of a base in white Carrara marble upon which the bronze statue depicts the politician in civilian dress, with his face slightly turned to the right, his left arm bent as if holding a book, and his right arm raised and outstretched in an oratorical gesture.
On the front of the base are allegorical figures representing Politics, represented as a woman wearing a laurel wreath who lovingly embraces the People, symbolised by a child who, standing upon the ruins of ancient glories and holding the tricolour flag, looks proudly towards the future.
On the back, unrolled on the steps of the base, is a map of Italy, framed by a bronze wreath; above this, on the pedestal, is the inscription: MONUMENTO DI RICONOSCENZA NAZIONALE DECRETATO DAL PARLAMENTO CON LEGGE XIX GIUGNO MDCCCLXXXVII (MONUMENT OF NATIONAL GRATITUDE DECREED BY PARLIAMENT BY LAW OF 19 JUNE 1887).
Monument to Marco Minghetti, ph. Turismo Roma
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