Colonna di San Felice

The column was commissioned by Cosimo I de’ Medici to celebrate the victory in the battle of Marciano, fought in Val di Chiana on August 2nd 1554, between the franc-senese army, under the command of Piero Strozzi, and the hispanic-Medici army. It was placed in Piazza San Felice near Palazzo Pitti. During the raising works (1572), the 9.4 metre high column broke in half and the two sections had to be centred. The plan of Cosimo I foresaw the placement of a statue representing the Peace at its summit but because of the death of the Grand Duke, the column remained incomplete, without a capital and without a suitable base. The column remained in its location until 1838, when the Grand Duke Leopold II of Lorraine had it removed because it was imperfect and to widen the passage. A plaque on a building in the square recalls the removal of the “imperfect” monument. In 1992, after a restoration, the column was again positioned but the current location does not correspond exactly to the original one.

The stem is constituted by a monolith in Breccia di Seravezza. The breccia was quarried in Seravezza in 1569 under the supervision of Bartolomeo Ammannati and transported in the city in 1571.