Athena1.0220

Athena1.0220_Canova

White marble statue of Ferdinand I of Bourbon in a helmet and toga, with smaller statues and plaques below, and a person in a hijab kneeling

Translation of the inscription from Latin: "Marble statue dedicated with this inscription in the year 1821 to Ferdinand I Bourbon, pious, fortunate, and indomitable ruler of teh Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, unassailable defender of religion and the public good; this palace, formerly a seat of learning, having been liberated of a garrison of troops and restored to the Muses by his father the august king Charles, be completed in a more ample and worthy form; gave orders that from all sides should be gathered and conserved a great number of pictures, every manner of statue, books and works of art together with the library of his forebears and all the treasures from antiquity of the Farnese family and those excavated at Pompeii, Herculaneum, and other sites, all primarily to the greater glory of the nation and for the convenience of scholars; to this venerable museum he gave the name of Bourbon; to the same he added the Bourbon Society of the Sciences divided into three Academies; and also the Academy of Herculaneum for Antiques and the Fine Arts. The work of Antonio Canova."