Strangled on the facade

Have you ever looked closely at the bronze doors on the façade of the Duomo? If you do, you will notice, on the right-hand set of doors, the head of a troubled-looking young man with a snake wrapped around his neck. No, this is not one of the many saints and biblical characters. This is a self-portrait of Giuseppe Cassioli, one of the brothers commissioned to make the doors in 1888. During the 10 years it took to finish the doors, Cassioli suffered harassment and heavy criticism for his sculptures and the time it took to complete them. He had the last word, however: his critics are immortalised on the door as the snake, slowly squeezing the life out of the artist.