Talking statues of Rome #5 Abate Luigi (2023), PAR, Piazza Vidoni, Rome IT

Over the past 500 years, the genuine and vernacular spirit of Rome has spoken in anonymity through six statues scattered throughout the historic center, collectively known as the Congress of Wits.

Weaving together contemporary art, archaeology, architecture, and history, I conceived and presented the series Talking Statues of Rome during the summer of 2023. Each statue served me as a muse, suggesting a distinct theme that I then proposed to each participant. I invited each sitter to share their personal story and to leave a few words behind, transforming these encounters into an ongoing dialogue woven into the very fabric of the city.

Abate Luigi - depicting a toga-clad man but so named for his supposed resemblance to a clever sexton - occupies an especially unfortunate, secluded spot off the main thoroughfares. The fifth performance in this series was by far the most quiet. Throughout the entire time I spent at the site, not a single passerby stopped - a silence that poignantly underscored the statue’s isolation and obscurity.

Fittingly, the theme I proposed for this encounter was healing.

Photo Daniele Ottavi