Bartolomea Capitanio was born in Lovere, Bergamo, in 1807. She obtained a diploma as an assistant teacher and in 1822 began her teaching activity in the institute itself. Furthermore, she dedicated herself to the hospital for the poor, founded in her hometown, although she immediately felt the need to operate outside the borders of Lovere, to support the many people who needed religious, physical and moral assistance; she then had the idea of building a large religious family that could carry out a series of good works. Thus the “Conventino” was founded, of which  works already started by Bartolomea were continued, such as the free school and the orphanage. Bartolomea was able to take part in few of these initiatives as death overtook her in 1833, not even a year after the grand opening of the house for the people.

Tales of the statue in Dome’s building site:

Bartolomea Capitanio is depicted here in the role of a teacher and wears a crucifix around her neck, a sign of her faith. The figure is the only one among all the statues that crown the Cathedral that is not alone. Together with her, in fact, a little girl was sculpted with her hands clasped while praying in front of an open book that the Saint holds with her right hand, while with her left it almost seems as if she is about to affectionately encircle the girl’s shoulder. The statue was created by Egidio Boninsegna between 1953 and 1956.