Description of the attraction
"Il Prato" - Arezzo's city park, a favorite vacation spot for townspeople and tourists. The park is located on a hilltop between the Duomo and the Medici Fortress in a zone of great archaeological importance. It is reliably known that in ancient times the Forum of the Etruscans and Ancient Romans with temples and public buildings was located here. The once wide lowland divided the two hills on which the settlements were located around the Cathedral and around the fortress. Between the 17th and the beginning of the 19th century, this hollow between the hills was filled in to create a city park, which was designed to be in the shape of an oval, which was typical of the style of the Napoleonic era. "Il Prato", which in translation from Italian, by the way, means "meadow", reached its present size in the first half of the 20th century. From the walls that surround the park, you can admire the breathtaking views of the city buildings and the pretty countryside of the surrounding valleys.
The Il Prato Park was officially opened in 1809 and immediately became a popular meeting place, as well as a venue for exhibitions and festivals. In 1928, a monument to the great native of Arezzo, the Italian poet Petrarch, was erected in the center of the park. The monument, which is a massive white marble monument, was made by the sculptor Alessandro Lazerini from Carrara. Since it was made during the years of the fascist regime, symbols of political propaganda of those years can be found in its appearance. The poet stands, and at his feet lies the she-wolf - the one who nursed Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. On the right, you can see a mother trying to save her son from civil war, and a man defending a woman and calling for peace. At the top of the monument is a bowl of water - a reference to the poet's famous canzone ("Chiare, fresche e dolci acque"). Allegories are visible on the sides: the poet's coronation symbolizes the triumph of Glory, the image of the Virgin Mary is the triumph of the Lord, a small cupid and a medallion depicting Laura, Petrarch's beloved, is the triumph of Love and Chastity, and other elements hint at the triumph of Death.
