John of Austria (Messina)

Last updated
Monument to John of Austria
Messina, monumento a giovanni d'austria (1572) vincitore di lepanto, 01.JPG
John of Austria (Messina)
LocationPiazza Catalani, Messina
Designer Andrea Calamech
Material Bronze
Dedicated date1572
Restored date1908
Dedicated to John of Austria

John of Austria or Don Giovanni d'Austria is a monumental sculpture in bronze, originally gilded, of John of Austria by architect and sculptor Andrea Calamech, a native of Carrara who trained in the Florentine workshop of Bartolomeo Ammannati. [1] Its erection was decided by the Senate of Messina in 1571 to honor the victor of the Battle of Lepanto, from which many Messineses had benefited, and it was dedicated in 1572. William Stirling-Maxwell called it "one of the most effective monuments of sixteenth-century art". [2] On the sides of the pedestal are bronze plaques depicting the fleet, the battle, and the fleet's victorious return to Messina as well as an inscription. John is figured holding a three-pronged baton in reference to his command of the triple alliance of Philip II, the Pope, and the Republic of Venice, with his foot on the severed head of a vanquished Turk generally considered to be Müezzinzade Ali Pasha. [3]

The monument was initially located between Messina's Royal Palace and the Church of Our Lady of the Pillar. After being damaged in the Sicilian revolution of 1848, it was moved in 1853 to face the Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Teatini (it). After the destructions of the 1908 Messina earthquake, it was moved again to its current location in 1928. [4]

A copy of the statue was erected on Zieroldsplatz in Regensburg, John's birthplace, in 1978 on the fourth centenary of his death. [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Canova</span> Italian Neoclassical sculptor (1757–1822)

Antonio Canova was an Italian Neoclassical sculptor, famous for his marble sculptures. Often regarded as the greatest of the Neoclassical artists, his sculpture was inspired by the Baroque and the classical revival, and has been characterised as having avoided the melodramatics of the former, and the cold artificiality of the latter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Messina</span> Comune in Sicily, Italy

Messina is a harbour city and the capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of more than 219,000 inhabitants in the city proper and about 650,000 in the Metropolitan City. It is located near the northeast corner of Sicily, at the Strait of Messina and it is an important access terminal to Calabria region, Villa San Giovanni, Reggio Calabria on the mainland. According to Eurostat the FUA of the metropolitan area of Messina has, in 2014, 277,584 inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donatello</span> Italian Renaissance sculptor

Donato di Niccolò di Betto Bardi, better known as Donatello, was an Italian sculptor of the Renaissance period. Born in Florence, he studied classical sculpture and used this to develop a complete Renaissance style in sculpture. He spent time in other cities, and while there he worked on commissions and taught others; his periods in Rome, Padua, and Siena introduced to other parts of Italy his techniques, developed in the course of a long and productive career. Financed by Cosimo de' Medici, Donatello's David was the first freestanding nude male sculpture since antiquity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Lepanto</span> 1571 naval battle of the Ottoman–Habsburg wars

The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of the Ottoman Empire in the Gulf of Patras. The Ottoman forces were sailing westward from their naval station in Lepanto when they met the fleet of the Holy League which was sailing east from Messina, Sicily. The Spanish Empire and the Venetian Republic were the main powers of the coalition, as the league was largely financed by Philip II of Spain, and Venice was the main contributor of ships.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John of Austria</span> Military Leader and Illegitimate son of Emperor Charles V

John of Austria was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret codicil to his will. John became a military leader in the service of his half-brother, King Philip II of Spain, Charles V's legitimate heir, and is best known for his role as the admiral of the Holy Alliance fleet at the Battle of Lepanto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siena Cathedral</span> Medieval church in Tuscany, Italy

Siena Cathedral is a medieval church in Siena, Italy, dedicated from its earliest days as a Roman Catholic Marian church, and now dedicated to the Assumption of Mary.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florence Baptistery</span> Baptistery in Florence, Italy

The Florence Baptistery, also known as the Baptistery of Saint John, is a religious building in Florence, Italy, and has the status of a minor basilica. The octagonal baptistery stands in both the Piazza del Duomo and the Piazza San Giovanni, across from Florence Cathedral and the Campanile di Giotto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wallace Monument</span> Tower on the summit of Abbey Craig in Scotland

The National Wallace Monument is a 67 metre tower on the shoulder of the Abbey Craig, a hilltop overlooking Stirling in Scotland. It commemorates Sir William Wallace, a 13th- and 14th-century Scottish hero.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castello Ursino</span> Thirteenth century Castle built on the will of King Federico II, Catania

Castello Ursino, also known as Castello Svevo di Catania, is a castle in Catania, Sicily, southern Italy. It was built in the 13th century as a royal castle of the Kingdom of Sicily, and is mostly known for its role in the Sicilian Vespers, when it became the seat of the Sicilian Parliament. The castle is in good condition today, and it is open to the public as a museum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Djerba</span> 1560 naval battle between the Ottoman Empire and an alliance of Christian states

The Battle of Djerba took place in May 1560 near the island of Djerba, Tunisia. The Ottomans under Piyale Pasha's command overwhelmed a large joint Christian Alliance fleet, composed chiefly of Spanish, Papal, Genoese, Maltese, and Neapolitan forces. The allies lost 27 galleys and some smaller vessels as well as the fortified island of Djerba. This victory marked perhaps the high point of Ottoman power in the Mediterranean Sea.

<i>Boy with Thorn</i> Greco-Roman Hellenistic bronze sculpture

Boy with Thorn, also called Fedele (Fedelino) or Spinario, is a Greco-Roman Hellenistic bronze sculpture of a boy withdrawing a thorn from the sole of his foot, now in the Palazzo dei Conservatori, Rome. There is a Roman marble version of this subject from the Medici collections in a corridor of the Uffizi Gallery, Florence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castelvetrano</span> Comune in Sicily, Italy

Castelvetrano is a town and comune in the province of Trapani, Sicily, southern Italy. The archeological site of Selinunte is located within the municipal territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">San Francesco della Vigna</span>

San Francesco della Vigna is a Roman Catholic church in the Sestiere of Castello in Venice, northern Italy.

<i>Funerary Monument to Sir John Hawkwood</i> Fresco by Paolo Uccello

The Funerary Monumentto SirJohn Hawkwood is a fresco by Paolo Uccello, commemorating English condottiero John Hawkwood, commissioned in 1436 for Florence Cathedral. The fresco is an important example of art commemorating a soldier-for-hire who fought in the Italian peninsula and is a seminal work in the development of perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Memorials to William Shakespeare</span>

William Shakespeare has been commemorated in a number of different statues and memorials around the world, notably his funerary monument in Stratford-upon-Avon ; a statue in Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, London, designed by William Kent and executed by Peter Scheemakers (1740); and a statue in New York's Central Park by John Quincy Adams Ward (1872).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pavia Civic Museums</span> Art museum and Historic site in Pavia PV, Italy

The Civic Museums of Pavia are a number of museums in Pavia, Lombardy, northern Italy. They are housed in the Castello Visconteo, or Visconti Castle, built in 1360 by Galeazzo II Visconti, soon after taking the city, a free city-state until then. The credited architect is Bartolino da Novara. The castle used to be the main residence of the Visconti family, while the political capital of the state was Milan. North of the castle a wide park was enclosed, also including the Certosa of Pavia, founded 1396 according to a vow of Gian Galeazzo Visconti, meant to be a sort of private chapel of the Visconti dynasty. The Battle of Pavia (1525), climax of the Italian Wars, took place inside the castle park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Messina</span> Italian sculptor (1900–1995)

Francesco Messina was an Italian sculptor of the 20th century.

<i>Statue of Niels Juel</i>

The Statue of Niels Juel, created by the sculptor Theobald Stein, was unveiled in 1881 at Holmens Kanal in Copenhagen, Denmark. It stands next to Church of Holmen where he is buried and close to his former home in Kongens Nytorv. The monument with surroundings was listed in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anime Sante, Alcamo</span> Church building in Alcamo, Italy

Anime Sante is a Catholic church located in Alcamo, in the province of Trapani.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Andrea Calamech</span> Italian architect and sculptor (1524-1589)

Andrea Calamech (1524-1589) was an Italian sculptor and architect.

References

  1. Pietro Paolo Gemelli (1999), Monumenti di Messina: la statua di Don Giovanni d'Austria, Pellegrini
  2. William Stirling-Maxwell (1883), Don John of Austria, or Passages from the History of the Sixteenth Century, 1547-1578, London: Longmans, Green, and co., p. 460
  3. DK Eyewitness Travel Guide Sicily, Penguin, 2015, p. 187
  4. "Monument to Don Giovanni d'Austria". ZonzoFox Messina.
  5. Karl Bauer (1988), Regensburg. Aus Kunst-, Kultur- und Sittengeschichte, Regensburg: MZ Buchverlag, p. 246