This monument, named also “La Croce” (the cross), was placed in Staglieno in December 1906 and has been commanded by the countess Dattili Della Torre Orsini in memory of his father, the senator and jurisconsult Tito Orsini. Like the Bauer tomb, which was performed by Bistolfi in 1904, the Orsini tomb symbolizes the new symbolist idea of the death, but while in the former tomb the sensual and mysterious image of the beautiful death prevails, in the latter one a complex allegory around the cross gives an overview of the lay values: the Thought (or the Philosopher), the Filial Love, the Youth, the Childhood, the Pain, the Motherhood, the Faith and the Work. The people of the time appreciated Bistolfi’s search of a new symbolic language to interpret a view not only of the Death itself but also of some social features: in fact, both tombs have become a reference point for all the Art-Nouveau and Symbolist Ligurian sculptors who have worked in Staglieno during the first quarter of the 20th century.
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