F. Fraternali - Abstract

Studies related to the first public monument in honor of Raffaello Sanzio, a sculpture by the roman artist Carlo Finelli (1785-1853) displayed at the Cathedral of Urbino, had so far been limited to the events following the arrival of the piece of art to Urbino in 1847. Through the study of unpublished documents, kept in the private archive of the Antimi Clari family from Macerata Feltria, it was possible to trace the story of the sculpture preceding its arrival to the ducal city; from the commission to Finelli by Giuseppe Antimi Clari (1763-1841), who wanted the sculpture to adorn a public fountain in the town of Macerata Feltria, to the transfer of the ownership, by the heirs of Giuseppe Antimi Clari to the nobleman from Urbino, Curzio Corboli Aquilini (1790-1860), who would have given the sculpture to the city, in order for it to be placed on a basement containing interesting Masonic symbols inside the Cathedral of Urbino.