Colonna dell'Abbondanza

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The Colonna dell'Abbondanza stands in the center of the Piazza della Repubblica in Florence and is known as the “center of the city”.

Colonna dell'Abbondanza

A statue corresponding to the current structure was erected in 1431, with a statue of Dovizia (Loyalty to Duty) by Donatello on top. A small bell attached to the pillar signaled the opening and closing times of the Mercato Vecchio. Another bell was used to publicly brand dishonest, fraudulent and insolvent traders.

On October 20, 1721, the statue of Donatello fell from the top of the column to the ground and broke. She was subsequently replaced by a similar figure, the work of Giovan Battista Foggini. After the Mercato Vecchio had been razed, an equestrian statue of King Victor Emanuel II took the place of the statue. This is now on the Piazzale delle Cascine.

In 1956, the Florentine Beautification Association (Comitato per l'estetica cittadina) had the column erected in its old place with money from the Tourist Office . It is now crowned by a copy of Foggini's statue by Mario Moschi. The statue of Foggini is now in the building of the municipal savings bank (Palazzo della Cassa di Risparmio di Firenze), via dell'Oriuolo.