Statue of Giuseppe Zanardelli
Credits: La Guida Artistica
Statue of Giuseppe ZanardelliVia XX Settembre, 40, 25121 Brescia BS
The monument to the Brescian jurist. In Via XX Settembre, a bronze figure greets the city. In Brescia, where civic memory is a daily value.
THE CHARACTER AND HIS STORY
The monument to Giuseppe Zanardelli is located in the Zanardelli Gardens, along Via XX Settembre, in the area that connects the centre to the modern city: a place of passage, socialising and urban identity.
It is dedicated to Giuseppe Zanardelli, born in Brescia (26 October 1826), a prominent patriot and statesman of united Italy, a man of law and government. Zanardelli took part in the uprisings of 1848 and dedicated his life to politics and justice: he was a member of parliament, minister and Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Italy at the beginning of the 20th century.
His legal work is best remembered for the new Penal Code, which was ahead of its time in abolishing the death penalty and for its modern vision of law.
THE WORK AND ITS SIGNIFICANCE
The monument was created between 1906 and 1909 by the sculptor Davide Calandra. The bronze figure depicts Zanardelli raising his arm, as if ready to speak: an eloquent symbol of his passion for oratory, his firmness and his leading role in public debate. At the foot of the statue resonates the idea of civic engagement and national responsibility that characterised his entire career.
The work is not just a formal tribute: it is a reminder of Brescia's civic conscience, its ability to produce ideas and institutions that look to justice and modernity. Here, memory is not a burden but a lifeblood that sustains every step towards the European future.