Fountain of Domenica Calubina
The Fountain of Domenica Calubina is a small hexagonal fountain in the piazza Dallò in the center of the town of Castiglione delle Stiviere, province of Mantua, region of Lombardy, Italy.[1] In the center, atop a pillar is a worn marble statue of a woman, likely pregnant and holding a hand to her abdomen, dressed in late-15th century garb with a ruff around the neck. Tradition as stated by the Latin inscription on the base is that it represents Domenica Calubina, who loved better to die than dishonor herself.[2]
Few details of the story can be found; the base of the statue appears to be stamped with the date 1733 and the sculptor is unclear. The story is described as that of the Lombard Lucretia; it has echoes in the Marian veneration in Italy. A paraphrase of Spallicci's short paragraph on the 15th-century story is:[3]
that this handsome woman, born in Castiglione, was the delight of all those who knew her. She was unfortunate in choosing her lover; for one evening finding her alone, sought to insult her in honor. She not only denied his claims, but bitterly reproached the lover, who blinded by anger, killed her.
References
[edit]- ^ Guida di Mantova offerta al cittadino e al forestiero, Editor Luigi Segna, Mantua, 1866, page 118.
- ^ che amò meglio morire che disonorarsi as translated by Spallicci.
- ^ Cenni biografici di alcune donne illustri italiane operetta, 3rd edition by Giuseppe Spallicci, Palermo (1873); page 16.