This warrior, one of the many that crowd the spires of the Duomo, is located on the oldest of the four spires surrounding the main spire, built between 1507 and 1518 by Giovanni Antonio Amadeo, sculptor and architect. The original purpose of these spires was to provide a buttress to counter the outward thrust of the dome lantern, but they soon took on a decorative function, embellished with statues and a screen connecting them to the dome lantern. Amadeo portrayed himself in a medallion on the pluteus on the inner side of the spire, and with his assistants sculpted a Madonna with Child and The Fortress or St. Barbara, today in the Cathedral Museum. The other decorations, some of which are in a poor condition, include the symbols of the Passion, a Visitation, the Adoration of the Child, the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple and the Dispute with the Doctors. A Mary Magdalene and two prophets were added later. At the top is a warrior, symbolising defence of the Faith, positioned as if to protect the Virgin rising above. If we add an “a” to the word gugliotto (spire), we get agugliotto, a nautical term that indicates the pintle, the pin on which the rudder turns. Without this pin the boat has no direction. Similarly, the spires have a static and at the same time fundamental architectural function, containing the main spire and surrounding Mary with all the symbols and figures that characterised her life, and around which the entire Cathedral revolves.