Spire G25 is dominated by a massive statue with the body turned towards the south but with the face looking south-west from where the south-west wind blows, coming from Libya and known for the heat it brings with it together with the fine dust of the desert. The Southern Sentinel holds his spear at his right side and rests the entire weight of his body on it, perhaps due to tiredness due to centuries of vigil. The helmet on his head and the armor identify him as a warrior, the one who has been guarding the southern gate of the city for dozens of generations; it is a fundamental gate for the city, through which they passed from the Byzantines during the siege of the city to Emperor Frederick II. The Sentinel always remains on guard together with his most important weapon, his gaze, with which he records who enters and leaves the city, recording their memory in marble. This is the Sentinel of all those who are passing through and of those who host the stranger sharing with him bread and wine, the medicines of life.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s building site:

The statue that can be admired today on Spire G25 is probably a reproduction. The original version was in fact created way back in 1653 by the sculptor Giovanni Andrea Prevosto, author of the preparatory model and already previously active in the Duomo construction site for the creation of other works, together with the worker Francesco Muttone, who was responsible for creating the top of the spire. Some documents have been found and studied in the Veneranda Fabbrica Archive which help to reconstruct the historical events of our Southern Sentinel within the Shipyard. We know that the Sentinel was never moved from the position it still occupies today, as has often happened to other statues over time.