The city council has given the green light for a statue sculpted by Gabriele Vicari, the acclaimed hand behind masterpieces in Tuscany and abroad.
In 1513, Pope Leo X, born Giovanni di Lorenzo de’ Medici put an end to the territorial dispute over Pietrasanta between Lucca, Genoa and Florence, issuing a lodo that placed the town under Florentine jurisdiction, along with Seravezza, Stazzema, Motrone and Forte dei Marmi, including the Monte Altissimo marble quarries.
Mired in scandal, indulgence, risky politics and Lutheranism, his papacy did not stand out for its religious zeal and severely damaged the Church’s reputation. Then again, he had been forced towards an ecclesiastical career, so it is unsurprising that he was anything but the mystic type. In short, he was more inclined to carnivals than to Lent. Which brings us to the question of whether the pope even deserves a monument, an impressive four-metre-tall work in Carrara marble, hoisted on an imposing pedestal surrounded by a square staircase in piazza Matteotti? “Yes, because he is a pillar of Pietrasanta’s history,” says Gabriele Vicari. Indeed, the sculptures in Pietrasanta, often with questionable criteria, generally have little to do with local history and Leo X, with his lodo, did result in years of political stability and prosperity for the area, paving the way for a flourishing future.
Back in London where he won a coveted prize promoted by the National Portrait Gallery in 2009, Vicari was struck by an image of the Medici Cardinal, rendered with extraordinary realism in a 16th-century terracotta preserved at the Victoria & Albert Museum. Acquired by the museum in 1982 and attributed to Antonio de’ Benintendi from Florence, the polychrome bust, dating to 1512 and recently restored, is on show in the Renaissance Rooms. Whether it was Antonio de’ Benintendi or someone else, the creator had almost certainly seen the haughty cardinal in person. The work is striking for having captured the personality of the man. Unlike the official portraits by Raphael and Sebastiano del Piombo, flaccid and dull in appearance, the Florentine terracotta underlines a determined character, used to being in charge and obeyed, perhaps a little despotic and arrogant, and perhaps suffering from a liver disorder due to banquets and political problems. In other words, it offers a livelier look at the leader behind the coup that placed Pietrasanta under Florentine rule. “This is my Leo X,” Vicari remarks.
Vicari is already working on a clay model to bring to completion his on-point proposal, endorsed and sponsored by the municipality, and even approved by The Vatican. A master of portraits and figurative art in a classical style, Vicari combines technique and intuition aimed at eliciting emotion and arousing intrigue, something that comes across when looking at his recent works, such as Galileo in Pisa, D’Annunzio in Versilian, Voltaire in France and the Governor of British Columbia in Canada.
“Marketing is not my aim,” Vicari remarks. “I wish to do something that ‘elevates’, that strives to transcend, free from trite bargaining…Something understood, appreciated, even shared by people.” By way of an example, he also proposed a young couple sitting on the steps surrounding the monument, embracing each other. Two bronze sculptures beneath the marble pope sitting on a throne, representing the desire to communicate and connect with loving feelings. “An invitation for moments of aggregation that hopefully will not be thwarted by the use of smartphones instead of conversation,” he adds. “It may bring my imposing Leo X closer to the community.”
The monument is also intended to give new life to the square, in front of the old building that is supposed to host the town’s historic archive (currently closed). The unveiling is expected to take place before the end of 2025.
