Saint Simeon was born in 389 AD in the area of ​​Syria, and is known for having led the life of a Christian ascetic. Raised under the influence of his mother Martha, he soon developed a great enthusiasm for the Christian faith, beginning to observe a very austere behavior as a child and entering a monastery before the age of sixteen. Subsequently, he began a long fast that reduced him to critical physical conditions and, leaving the convent, he began the life of a hermit by locking himself in a hut for three years, in which he spent the entire Lenten period without eating. After this period, he went to a mountain and decided to settle in a very small space. In order to isolate himself from the always growing number of pilgrims who came to visit him on the mountain, Simeon created a small platform on the top of a pillar he found nearby, and on this he decided to live for the rest of his life. It is said that, since he thought he was not capable of escaping the world horizontally, he then decided to escape vertically.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s building site:

The statue of Saint Simeon Stylites is part of the spires of the Central Terrace. The Saint’s right hand rests on his chest while in his left he holds a partially unrolled scroll. Behind his right leg, a tree trunk is visible, testifying to his particular historical event. He is presented barefoot and with his gaze turned upwards. The sculpture was made in 1811 by Gaetano Matteo Monti as evidenced by the third volume of the annals of Veneranda Fabbrica.