The equestrian monument to Carlo Alberto is a bronze group erected in 1843 in what is today Piazza Mazzini, in the centre of Casale Monferrato. The town administration wanted it out of gratitude to the King of Sardinia, who by an edict of 19 September 1837 had given Casale back its Senate, suppressed in 1730 by Carlo Emanuele III and moved to Turin: it returned in the form of a Court of Appeal, the second in Piedmont. The cost did not fall on the treasury: it was covered by voluntary subscriptions, which in a few days raised eighty thousand Piedmontese lire. The contract was signed on 26 March 1838, and the unveiling took place on 20 May 1843.
What to see
The statue is by the Milanese sculptor Abbondio Sangiorgio, already famous for the bronze Sestiga on top of the Arco della Pace in Milan. Carlo Alberto, who was then alive and reigning, is shown about two and a half times life size, dressed in tunic and pallium in the manner of the Roman emperors, with footwear of Roman style. His right arm is stretched towards the horizon, palm turned down, and with his left hand he holds the bridle; the horse turns its head to the left and raises its right foreleg.
The pedestal, of granite, is the work of Pelagio Palagi of Bologna and the architect Pietro Bosso: the block that carries the statue is a monolith of about twenty-five tonnes. On the front you can read a Latin inscription dictated by Professor Francesco Stevano. The bronze was cast in several parts, seven for the horse and five for the rider, in the Milanese workshop of Luigi Manfredini; when he died during the preparations, the work was completed by his son-in-law Giovanni Battista Viscardi.
Visiting
The monument stands in the open, in the square, and can be seen at any hour. To make room for it some old houses were demolished, replaced by a new building with a façade in the Ionic order, designed by Pietro Bosso to frame the square.
Our editors' tip
The king's dress was long debated. Sangiorgio had prepared two models: in one the sovereign wore the Spanish dress of Grand Master of the Supreme Order of the Most Holy Annunciation, in the other heroic dress in the Roman manner. The subject was delicate, because the king was alive and ruling: special commissions, experts and artists were consulted, and the heroic costume prevailed.
