Italy
Italy is the cradle of the equestrian statue. Not only do we find here the only remaining equestrian statue from Roman times, but it is also the region where the rebirth of this specific form of art took place during the Renaissance. Some of these statues are not just depictions of rider and horse, but are irreplaceable and outstanding works of art. Therefore it is no surprise that the best-known modern artist who created a new form of equestrian sculpture is Italian: Marino Marini.
A special category of equestrian art in Italy is the funerary monument that preceded the rebirth of the equestrian statue in the Renaissance. These wooden sculptures, often gilded or coloured, adorn the tombs of condottieri; mercenaries of the powerful city-states in the Middle Ages. The first renaissance statues also portrayed these condottieri as well as the rulers of those city-states.
There are at least 65 equestrian statues in Italy. About one third of them portray the creators of modern Italy: Giuseppe Garibaldi and Vittorio Emanuele II.