Contardo Ferrini was born in Milan in 1859; he was an esteemed scholar, jurist and researcher, teaching in various important universities, including Messina, Modena and Pavia. Among other things, he also cultivated a strong spirituality, managing to stand out thanks to his silent and discreet work, through which he managed to spread the love of Christ even to the most skeptical. He is also an important figure for the socio-cultural identity of Italy at the end of the 19th century; for example he was one of the first to support the Catholic university project in Italy. He died in 1902, suffering from a severe case of tuberculosis.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s building site:  

The original statue of Beato Contardo Ferrini was sculpted folowing the model of Ettore Cedraschi presented to the commission of the Veneranda Fabbrica by Giovanni Jacopi around 1951. The figure represents a mustachioed man dressed in civilian clothes. Wrapped in a long cloak, the Blessed looks straight ahead holding a book in his hand, an element that represents him in the dual role of a religious man and a great man of culture. An engraving at the base of the statue also confirms his identity, which bears the name ‘Beato Ferrini’.