Monumento a Alessandro Tassoni in Modena

A monument to a mock-heroic poet stands as the lone survivor of an abandoned 19th-century plan to line Modena's Via Emilia with statues. Located in the pedestrianized Piazza Torre directly beneath the towering Ghirlandina bell tower, the Monumento a Alessandro Tassoni honors a celebrated Modenese diplomat, satirist, and poet.

## A Solitary Monument

Following the collapse of the Ducal Este regime and the Italian unification plebiscites in 1860, Modena sought to celebrate its civic identity by honoring historical cultural figures. The Società per l’erezione dei monumenti agli illustri modenesi commissioned a grand project to erect five statues of illustrious citizens along Via Emilia.

Carved in pale marble by local sculptor Antonio Cavazza, the statue of Tassoni was unveiled on November 26, 1860. Ultimately, the grander civic project was abandoned, leaving Tassoni's marble figure as the only completed statue from the original initiative.

## The Poet of the Stolen Bucket

Alessandro Tassoni (1565–1635) achieved international renown for his 1622 mock-heroic epic poem, La secchia rapita (The Stolen Bucket). The literary work parodies the centuries-long medieval rivalry between Ghibelline Modena and Guelph Bologna, specifically centering on the 1325 Battle of Zappolino.

While popular tradition inspired by Tassoni's poem claims that a stolen wooden well bucket sparked the war between the two cities, historical facts reveal a different story. Victorious Modenese soldiers seized the bucket from a Bolognese well merely as a post-battle trophy and an insult to their rivals. Today, the original historic wooden bucket is preserved inside the adjacent Palazzo Comunale, while a replica hangs inside the Ghirlandina tower.

## Modern Significance in Piazza Torre

Today, the monument serves as a prominent visual orientation point between Modena's main thoroughfare, Via Emilia, and the UNESCO World Heritage ensemble of Piazza Grande. The marble poet gazes out from his pedestal into the bustling thoroughfare, while the surrounding open space of Piazza Torre periodically hosts craft and artisan markets.

The area immediately surrounding the statue holds further civic history. The square directly behind the monument features the Sacrario dei Partigiani, a memorial wall composed of photo tiles commemorating Resistance fighters, alongside a plaque dedicated to publisher Angelo Fortunato Formiggini.