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Madonna of Piazza Grande - Pavia

Taken at Pavia, Italy

 

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Madonna of Piazza Grande (1604)

The Statue, requested by the people of Pavia, was put in place in 1604 in the heart of the city on the outside of the town hall building and was regarded with special devotion by the local people and above all by merchants and artisans. Made from rare, highly resistant materials (including sand from the river Ticino) the Madonna remained on the outside of the Broletto building for nearly three centuries, until 1872, at which time, in a climate of strong social conflict, it was taken to the crypt of the nearby cathedral.

In the 1980s a Pavia local, Professoressa Anna Maria De Paoli Garofoli, sparked renewed interest in the story of the Madonna of Piazza Grande by the press, the authorities and the local people of Pavia, 7,800 of whom asked for it to be returned to its original location.

In 1992 the statue, perfectly restored by the spontaneously established Committee for the Madonna of Piazza Grande, was solemnly moved to the cathedral and shown to the city.

On the 21st of December 2002 the Madonna was returned to the Broletto, giving back to the city a work of great beauty and extraordinary significance for the people of Pavia.

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Madonna di Piazza Grande (1604)

La statua, voluta dai pavesi, collocata nel 1604 nel cuore della città, sul Palazzo del Comune, fu oggetto di devozione particolare da parte del popolo e soprattutto dei mercanti e degli artigiani.

Fabbricata con materiale raro, molto resistente, fra cui anche la sabbia del Ticino, la Madonna rimase sul Broletto per circa tre secoli, fino al 1872, allorché, in un clima di forti contrasti sociali, trovò riparo nella cripta del vicino Duomo.

Negli anni '80 la vicenda della Madonna di Piazza Grande, resa nota da una gentile Signora pavese, la prof.ssa Anna Maria De Paoli Garofoli, suscita il rinnovato interesse della stampa, delle autorità e dei pavesi,che in 7.800 ne chiedono il ritorno al sito originario.

Nel 1992 la Statua, restaurata a regola d’arte a cura del Comitato Madonna di Piazza Grande, spontaneamente costituitosi, viene solennemente riportata in Duomo e presentata alla città.

Il 21 dicembre 2002 la Madonna ritorna al Broletto,restituendo alla città un'opera di grande bellezza e di straordinario significato per i pavesi.

 

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Uploaded on April 3, 2009