Monument to Don Pedro de Toledo

The viceroy’s tomb.

A grand monument still commemorates Don Pedro Alvarez de Toledo, Marquis of Villafranca, the greatest of the Spanish viceroys who succeeded one another from 1503 to 1707. He distinguished himself by his industriousness and by the particular mark he left on the political and economic life of the viceroyalty. Don Pedro also wished to give Naples the image of a capital, for such he considered it, establishing, among other things, its new urban layout.

It was in the church of San Giacomo, behind the high altar, that Don Pedro wished his sepulchral monument to be erected, entrusting its construction to Giovanni Merliano da Nola. But death overtook him in Florence in 1553 and, since the monument in Naples was not yet finished, he was buried in the cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore in Florence.

The monumental sarcophagus was realised in several stages by Giovanni Merliano da Nola, who availed himself of various assistants (1540-70); it consists of a great square work set on a base, itself square, adorned with friezes, heads and festoons, on which stand the allegorical statues of the cardinal virtues: Justice, Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance, symbols of the moral qualities of the Spanish ruler. On three sides of a second, narrower base are bas-reliefs carved in the “stiacciato” technique, depicting the deeds of the viceroy.

The first depicts the victory of 1538 over the Turks who, having landed on the southern coasts of the peninsula and unable to subdue Otranto, occupied and sacked Ugento and Castro. Pedro de Toledo then sent part of his troops on the ships of Admiral Doria and of his son Garcia, and with others he himself went to Puglia, stopping at Melfi and then at Taranto; at this point the Turks were forced to withdraw: in the scene Don Pedro is seen on horseback, with the Christians taken prisoner by the Turks and various groups of combatants.

The second exploit concerns the victory won in the waters of Baia in 1544 against the corsair Federico Barbarossa: at the centre is depicted the Aragonese castle, with Monte di Procida in the distance. The corsair surrendered to the viceroy after attempting in vain to take Ischia and Pozzuoli.

The third event refers instead to Charles V’s visit to Naples in 1535: Don Pedro, having dismounted, awaits the emperor’s arrival at Porta Capuana, while around him a procession celebrates.

Above the sarcophagus, on either side of a plumed helmet, are the kneeling figures of Pedro de Toledo and his first wife Maria Ossorio Pimentel; the viceroy is portrayed with a grave and solemn countenance, while Pimentel, her expression contrite and reflective, is intent on reading a sacred book.