Monument to Pietro Metastasio, Rome

The Monument to Pietro Metastasio is a memorial statue dedicated to the Roman poet and dramatist Pietro Metastasio (1698–1782); it is located along the Corso Vittorio Emanuele, at the piazza before the church of Santa Maria in Vallicella (Piazza di Chiesa Nuova), in central Rome, Italy.

In 1873, a committee of artists, led by Francesco Podesti, then director of the Academy of St Luke, decided to erect a statue to Metastasio, initially to be completed by the centenary of his death.

[1] A contest for a design was promulgated with an award of 25,000 Lira, paid in increments until completion.

[2] The contest was won in 1882 by the sculptor Emilio Gallori, but the monument was installed first in Piazza San Silvestro in Capite on 21 April 1886.

In addition, some of Metastasio's sacred works had been first presented at the adjacent Oratory of Filippo Neri.