Restoration is in store for the column of Justice in piazza Santa Trinita. The initial phases of the 150,000-euro project, estimated to last 200 days, have already begun, with scaffolding being installed around the column. Funds for the restoration will be raised by selling billboard space to grace the outside of the scaffolding.
The column, along with the column of Peace in piazza San Felice and the column of Religion in piazza San Marco, was erected by Cosimo I de’ Medici following his appointment as the Grand Duke of Tuscany in 1570. This particular column was gifted to the Medici family in 1560 by Pope Pius IV, who took it from the Baths of Caracalla.
At the top of the column stands Justice, brandishing a sword in her right hand and scales in her left. The statue was entrusted to Francesco del Tadda and his son Romolo, who were experts in carving porphyry. The father-son duo followed the design of Bartolomeo Ammannati. It took 11 years to complete the sculpture, which comprises six individual pieces of stone clamped together with copper linchpins.
Over the centuries, the column has become sufficiently pockmarked, Justice’s cape has oxidized, showing numerous holes, and the marble pieces have started to come apart. For these reasons, authorities called for its stability to be monitored in 2014, and now, it is finally getting a long-needed restoration.
