PRESS RELEASE (5/5/2016)
Saturday, May 7, a Loano, the inauguration of the statue of St. Sebastian, whose installation on the bridge of the same name marks the completion of the restoration and conservation work on the monument.
The ceremony will begin at 10.45 in the lobby of Doria Palace, where an exhibition of sketches of the statue created by students from the Giordano Bruno High School in Albenga.
At 11:45 a.m., on the St. Sebastian Bridge The statue will be installed and presented in the presence of the Mayor. Luigi Pignocca, the Councilor for Public Works Remo Zaccaria, of the school head teacher prof. Simonetta Barile and of the students.
The project was launched at the beginning of the school year, combining the synergies and skills of students from two disciplines: art and classics. The statue was created by students from the Art class, class 4A, coordinated by the prof. Pietro Marchese. The students followed all the stages: from the design, through studies and preparatory drawings, to the creation of the work with plasticine, to the final cast.
Students from the Classical, 3A C, coordinated by the Prof. Luciana Levi. Significant notes on symbology emerged from the pupils' studies: the palm as a symbol of the martyred saints, the arrows as an instrument of martyrdom, and the breastplate as a visualization of St. Sebastian's role as a soldier in the Roman army.
The statue was created with proportions and facial expressions similar to the iconography of the work that was destroyed when the shrine collapsed.
The restoration and conservation project for the entire monument was developed with a view to preserving the structure's identity, reconstructing the saint's shrine as it was before it collapsed.
The Bridge of San Sebastiano, a symbol of the county of the Doria princes, is also called “du niciu” (bridge of the niche). It was built in 1691 to allow the passage of the stream from the back of Palazzo Doria joining the walled Borgo to Borgo Castello. The niche dedicated to the saint is located in the center of the bridge on the upstream parapet. The statue of St. Sebastian, made of Finale snail stone, dates back to the 1930s and was donated in 1934 by Mrs. Luce Borsarelli, wife of the then podestà to replace the previous one that was lost.
