Valentini's Memorial

The Mantuan bourgeois entrepreneur Pietro Valentini was a known for being an art collector and an important donor. He died in 1895, and his heirs decided to dedicate a large monument to him in the Borgo Angeli cemetery, with a competition won by the ninth sketch presented by the sculptor Monti. The artists were actually two: Silvio and Alessandro Monti, from a well-known family from Cremona. The importance of the monument is due on the one hand to its position, aligned with the entrance, on the other to the large angel made in Carrara marble, a symbol of peace, towering over two figures in bronze, that seem to be sitting on the low flight of steps below. In particular, here we can admire the sculpture often called “Il Lavoro” (work), executed in the Raffaele Ceriani smelters in Milan. The figure, with a large moustache, is in fact intended as an expression of the industriousness of a lifetime. His proud gaze fits perfectly with the workshop overalls, an ample shirt and a long apron. The way the statue seems to fall and lean against the steps, conveying a sturdy tension, is admirable.