Marforio
Encyclopedia
Marphurius or Marforio is one of the talking statues
of Rome
. Marforio maintained a friendly rivalry with his most prominent rival, Pasquin. As at the other five "talking statues", pasquinade
s — irreverent satire
s poking fun at public figures — were posted beside Marforio in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Marforio is a large 1st century Roman
marble
sculpture of a reclining bearded river god
or Oceanus
, which in the past has been variously identified as a depiction of Jupiter, Neptune, or the Tiber
. It was the humanist and antiquarian Andrea Fulvio
who first identified it as a river god, in 1527. The Marfoi was a landmark in Rome from the late 12th century. Poggio Bracciolini wrote of it as one of the sculptures surviving from Antiquity, and in the early 16th century it was still near the Arch of Septimius Severus
, where the various authors reported it.
The origin of its name is a matter of some debate. It was discovered with a granite basin bearing the inscription "mare in foro", but may take its name from the Latin name for the area in which it was discovered (Martis Forum), or from the Marioli (or Marfuoli) family who owned property near the Mamertine Prison
, also near the forum, where the statue was sited until 1588.
Pope Sixtus V
had the statue moved to the piazza di San Marco in 1588, and then to the piazza del Campidoglio in 1592, where it decorates a fountain designed by Giacomo Della Porta
on a wall of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli
, facing the Palazzo dei Conservatori. In 1645, the building of the Palazzo Nuovo enclosed the fountain. Part of the face, the right foot, and the left hand holding a shell were restored in 1594. The statue was moved again in the 17th century, at the order of Pope Innocent X
, who had it placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, where it remains today.
Talking statues of Rome
The talking statues of Rome provided an outlet for a form of anonymous political expression in Rome. Criticisms in the form of poems or witticisms were posted on well-known statues in Rome...
of Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
. Marforio maintained a friendly rivalry with his most prominent rival, Pasquin. As at the other five "talking statues", pasquinade
Pasquinade
Pasquino or Pasquin is the name used by Romans to describe a battered Hellenistic-style statue dating to the 3rd century BC, which was unearthed in the Parione district of Rome in the 15th century...
s — irreverent satire
Satire
Satire is primarily a literary genre or form, although in practice it can also be found in the graphic and performing arts. In satire, vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, and society itself, into improvement...
s poking fun at public figures — were posted beside Marforio in the 16th and 17th centuries.
Marforio is a large 1st century Roman
Ancient Rome
Ancient Rome was a thriving civilization that grew on the Italian Peninsula as early as the 8th century BC. Located along the Mediterranean Sea and centered on the city of Rome, it expanded to one of the largest empires in the ancient world....
marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...
sculpture of a reclining bearded river god
River God
River God is a novel by author Wilbur Smith. It tells the story of the talented eunuch slave Taita, his life in Egypt, the flight of Taita along with the Egyptian populace from the Hyksos invasion, and their eventual return. The novel can be grouped together with Wilbur Smith's other books on...
or Oceanus
Oceanus
Oceanus ; , Ōkeanós) was a pseudo-geographical feature in classical antiquity, believed by the ancient Greeks and Romans to be the world-ocean, an enormous river encircling the world....
, which in the past has been variously identified as a depiction of Jupiter, Neptune, or the Tiber
Tiber
The Tiber is the third-longest river in Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Umbria and Lazio to the Tyrrhenian Sea. It drains a basin estimated at...
. It was the humanist and antiquarian Andrea Fulvio
Andrea Fulvio
Andrea Fulvio was an Italian Renaissance humanist, poet and antiquarian active in Rome, who advised Raphael in the reconstructions of ancient Rome as settings for his frescoes...
who first identified it as a river god, in 1527. The Marfoi was a landmark in Rome from the late 12th century. Poggio Bracciolini wrote of it as one of the sculptures surviving from Antiquity, and in the early 16th century it was still near the Arch of Septimius Severus
Arch of Septimius Severus
The white marble Arch of Septimius Severus at the northwest end of the Roman Forum is a triumphal arch dedicated in AD 203 to commemorate the Parthian victories of Emperor Septimius Severus and his two sons, Caracalla and Geta, in the two campaigns against the Parthians of 194/195 and...
, where the various authors reported it.
The origin of its name is a matter of some debate. It was discovered with a granite basin bearing the inscription "mare in foro", but may take its name from the Latin name for the area in which it was discovered (Martis Forum), or from the Marioli (or Marfuoli) family who owned property near the Mamertine Prison
Mamertine Prison
The Mamertine Prison — or Tullianum — was a prison located in the Forum Romanum in Ancient Rome. It was located on the northeastern slope of the Capitoline Hill, facing the Curia and the imperial fora of Nerva, Vespasian, and Augustus...
, also near the forum, where the statue was sited until 1588.
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V
Pope Sixtus V , born Felice Peretti di Montalto, was Pope from 1585 to 1590.-Early life:The chronicler Andrija Zmajević states that Felice's family originated from modern-day Montenegro...
had the statue moved to the piazza di San Marco in 1588, and then to the piazza del Campidoglio in 1592, where it decorates a fountain designed by Giacomo Della Porta
Giacomo della Porta
Giacomo della Porta was an Italian architect and sculptor, who worked on many important buildings in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica. He was born at Porlezza, Lombardy and died in Rome.-Biography:...
on a wall of the Basilica di Santa Maria in Ara Coeli
Santa Maria in Aracoeli
The Basilica of St. Mary of the Altar of Heaven is a titular basilica in Rome, located on the highest summit of the Campidoglio. It is still the designated Church of the city council of Rome, which uses the ancient title of Senatus Populusque Romanus...
, facing the Palazzo dei Conservatori. In 1645, the building of the Palazzo Nuovo enclosed the fountain. Part of the face, the right foot, and the left hand holding a shell were restored in 1594. The statue was moved again in the 17th century, at the order of Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X
Pope Innocent X , born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj , was Pope from 1644 to 1655. Born in Rome of a family from Gubbio in Umbria who had come to Rome during the pontificate of Pope Innocent IX, he graduated from the Collegio Romano and followed a conventional cursus honorum, following his uncle...
, who had it placed in the courtyard of the Palazzo dei Conservatori, where it remains today.