In a niche against the side of this church stands a Roman figure in a toga, and he has lost his head several times already.
Abate Luigi is a late antique statue of an unknown Roman, perhaps a magistrate, and the nickname comes from a local he was said to resemble. The statue has been moved around a lot, from one palazzo to the next, and only in the 1920s did it end up here. During those moves, and thanks to a few late-night pranks, the head vanished and was replaced, again and again.
On the base you can read a line that he seems to speak himself: that he was once a citizen of ancient Rome, that he now goes by Abate Luigi, and that together with and he won lasting fame through satire, with a request for a little respect now that he has been given a new face.
The head you see today was put on in the 1970s, after the previous one had been stolen for the umpteenth time.
We follow Corso Vittorio Emanuele east as far as Via Lata, the narrow street beside the large church, and there we find the niche at eye level.
Sources. Story: Sovrintendenza Capitolina ai Beni Culturali (Abate Luigi); Turismo Roma (Abate Luigi) Photos: Photo: Lalupa (Wikimedia Commons, public domain)
