Count Nikolai Demidov Monument

The monument to Count Nikolai Demidov on Piazza Demidoff in Florence was commissioned immediately after his death in 1828 by his two sons, Pavel and Anatoly. The work was designed by Italian sculptor Lorenzo Bartolini and originally intended for the Villa Demidoff at San Donato.

The monument was still unfinished by the time of Bartolini’s death in 1849 and only completed by his student, Pasquale Romanelli, in 1871. The sculpture was installed on the new square in front of the count’s former residence, the Palazzo Demidoff, which is now the Hotel Silla at Via de’ Renai 5.

The central figure is Nikolai Demidov dressed as an ancient senator with his son Anatoly. The woman laying a garland of flowers at his feet represents Gratitude. The four figures in the corners are Mercy, Siberia with the god Pluto, the Muse of Festivals, and Truth as revealed to Art.