Not only Pasquino: the talking statues of Rome

The statue of Pasquino is what remains of a work from the 3rd century BC that probably adorned the Stadium of Domitian in present-day Piazza Navona. The “Pasquinades”, normally posted at night, were often composed by poets and thinkers familiar with metre and Latin, and the people of Rome could enjoy a good laugh the following morning before the messages were removed by the authorities. Strict laws were enforced to put a stop to this practice and Pasquino was placed under surveillance. Pope Adrian VI (1522-23) even threatened to have Pasquino thrown into the Tiber, and Benedict XIII issued an edict in 1728, condemning anyone caught posting “pasquinades” on the statue to death, confiscation and infamy.

Pasquino is not the only talking statue in Rome. The capital has a tradition listing a series of sculptures that formed the “Congregation of Wits”, free thinkers carved in stone and characterised by the mordancy of their messages to popes and noblemen.

A stone’s throw from the Altare della Patria, there is an immense marble bust probably representing a priestess of Isis or even the goddess Isis herself. Here too, a nickname was given by the people, in reference to a noble lady of the 15th century, Lucrezia d’Alagna. The noblewoman was the mistress of the king of Naples, Alfonso of Aragon, and lived near present-day Palazzo Venezia, where the statue is located today, on the corner with Piazza San Marco.

Although irreverent messages were sometimes found there, the Pie’ di marmo is not included among the “Congregation of Wits”. According to some, it was the foot of the statue of Madame Lucrezia: this is indicated by the size and quality of the marble, and the robe and the sandal, which are typical of the priestesses of Isis. The foot was found in the 16th century and was placed in the street that now bears its name. In 1878, it was moved to the corner of Via Santo Stefano del Cacco in order not to obstruct the funeral procession of King Vittorio Emanuele II.

Resting on a porphyry fountain beside Palazzo Grandi, the statue of the Babuino probably depicts a Silenus, a deity that was half man and half satyr. According to tradition, the popular nickname is due to its grotesque appearance. Another theory links the nickname with the term “babbione” (from the Latin “bambalio”: old scoundrel). The satires of the Babuino gained such attention that for a certain period that they stole the limelight from Pasquino and earned themselves the name “babbuinate”.

The Fontana del Facchino (“The Porter Fountain”) was probably sculpted by Jacopo del Conto towards the end of the sixteenth century and depicts an “acquarolo” of the Confraternity of the Acquarenari, who sold water from the public fountains from door to door. The popular nickname is perhaps due to the appearance of the clothing, which is very similar to the typical attire of the guild of porters, or else to an epigraph that is now lost.

Dating from the first century AD and now located in the courtyard of Palazzo Nuovo at the Capitoline Museums, the statue represents a river god and probably came from the temple of Mars in the Forum of Augustus. The name “Marforio” is thought to derive from “Mare in Foro” or, according to others, from the Marfuoli family, who resided near the Mamertine prison, where the statue was found. Marforio was considered as Pasquino’s “straight man”: each answered the other’s questions with a mocking tone. One of the most famous satires was centred on Camilla, the sister of Pope Sixtus V, who came from peasant origins but began to adopt a noble attitude. To Marforio’s question: “Hey, Pasquino, why is your shirt so dirty? You look like a coal merchant!” Pasquino replied, “What can I do? My washerwoman has been made a princess!”