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Monument to Pietro Micca, Turin

Monument to Pietro Micca, Turin

The monument to Pietro Micca in Turin is another memento of human heroism, an example of patriotism for many generations. A simple monument in the center of the city tells the story of a hero who, quite possibly, changed the course of history.

Personality and history of the monument

Pietro Micca to whom the monument is dedicated was a simple bricklayer. During the War of the Spanish Succession, he joined the army and became an artilleryman. During the historic siege of Turin by the French in 1706, he and other soldiers fought off enemy attacks. However, people remember him for his other accomplishments. On the night of August 29 to 30, he guarded one of the tunnels of the Turin Citadel. The enemy soldiers attempted to penetrate the fortress and open the gate from the inside. To prevent this plan from being carried out, Pietro blew up the tunnel having made it collapse. And just then he died. After 8 days, the defenders waited for reinforcements and the siege was lifted. Later, some claimed that this happened just by accident. However, by that time, an ordinary soldier had become a national hero.

At the end of the 18th century, songs and poems were written in his honor. Later a street and a museum in Turin were named after him. In 1837, his last male descendant died. King Carlo Alberto started the creation of the monument. The first monument was moved, and now it is housed in the Pietro Micca Museum. In 1858, the city council decided to create a new sculpture. Giuseppe Cassano worked on it from 1863, and on June 4, 1864, the monument was finally opened near the part of the fortress where the hero met his death.

Sculpture

Today you can find the National Historical Museum of Artillery here. Its entrance faces a monument. The pedestal is made of gray granite and has a height of 4 meters. A bronze statue of an artillery hero stands tall and proud on it. The soldier is portrayed at the very moment before the explosion. He holds a short wick in his hand and is about to light it up. Pietro is dressed in the military clothes of that time and looks really courageous, as befits a hero. At the foot of the monument, you can still occasionally see flowers. People remember and honor his feat. After all, if the situation was different who knows what course the story would have taken.

How to get

The monument is located in the Andrea Guglielminetti Garden, on the corner of Via Cernaia and Corso Galileo Ferraris. This is the very heart of historic Turin. A few blocks away there are Piazza Solferino and the Palazzo Saluzzo. You can get here by trams № 7, 13, and by buses № 29, 51, 56, 59, 72, N10, W15. You need to get off at the Siccardi stop.

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