Monument to Nicola Spedalieri

However, he claims that the selfish desires of human nature need to be tempered by religious authority, specifically Roman Catholic morality.

The anti-absolutist ideas in his writings stirred opposition from ruling authorities battling the rising Jacobin and republican forces.

These notions led liberal forces of the 19th century to honor him as the origin of an Italian enlightenment about the rights of citizens.

This monument was first proposed in 1882 by the lawyer Giuseppe Cimbali, a native from the same town in Sicily where Spedalieri was born.

A second round of proposals the next year led to the selection of the design by Sicilian sculptor Mario Rutelli.