Pasquino or Pasquin (;
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
: ''Pasquinus, Pasquillus'') is the name used by
Romans since the
early modern period
The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...
to describe a battered
Hellenistic
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
-style statue perhaps dating to the third century BC, which was unearthed in the
Parione district of
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
in the fifteenth century. It is located in a piazza of the same name on the northwest corner of the
Palazzo Braschi (Museo di Roma); near the site where it was unearthed.
The statue is known as the first of the
talking statues of Rome, because of the tradition of attaching anonymous criticisms to its base. The satirical literary form
pasquinade (or "pasquil") takes its name from this tradition.
The actual subject of the sculpture is ''
Menelaus supporting the body of Patroclus'', and the subject, or the composition applied to other figures as in the
Sperlonga sculptures, occurs a number of times in classical sculpture, where it is now known as a "
Pasquino group". The actual identification of the sculptural subject was made in the eighteenth century by the
antiquarian
An antiquarian or antiquary () is an aficionado or student of antiquities or things of the past. More specifically, the term is used for those who study history with particular attention to ancient artefacts, archaeological and historic si ...
Ennio Quirino Visconti, who identified it as the torso of
Menelaus supporting the dying
Patroclus; the more famous of two Medici versions of this is in the
Loggia dei Lanzi in
Florence
Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025.
Florence ...
, Italy. The ''Pasquino'' is more recently characterized as a
Hellenistic
In classical antiquity, the Hellenistic period covers the time in Greek history after Classical Greece, between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the death of Cleopatra VII in 30 BC, which was followed by the ascendancy of the R ...
sculpture of the third century BC, or a Roman copy.
History

The statue's fame dates to the early sixteenth century, when Cardinal
Oliviero Carafa draped the
marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...
torso of the statue in a toga and decorated it with Latin
epigram
An epigram is a brief, interesting, memorable, sometimes surprising or satirical statement. The word derives from the Greek (, "inscription", from [], "to write on, to inscribe"). This literary device has been practiced for over two millennia ...
s on the occasion of the Feast of Saint Mark.
The Cardinal's actions led to a custom of criticizing the pope or his government by the writing of
satirical poems in broad
Roman dialect—called "pasquinades", from the Italian ''pasquinate''—and attaching them to the Pasquino. Thus Pasquino became the first "talking statue" of Rome. He spoke out about the people's dissatisfaction, denounced injustice, and assaulted misgovernment by members of the Church. From this tradition are derived the English-language terms
pasquinade and pasquil, which refer to an anonymous
lampoon in verse or prose.
Etymological origins

The origin of the name, "Pasquino", remains obscure. By the mid-sixteenth century it was reported that the name "Pasquino" derived from a nearby tailor who was renowned for his wit and intellect;
speculation had it that his legacy was carried on through the statue, in "the honor and everlasting remembrance of the poor tailor".
Tradition of wit
Before long, other statues appeared on the scene, forming a kind of public
salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon
A beauty salon or beauty parlor is an establishment that provides Cosmetics, cosmetic treatments for people. Other variations of this type of business include hair salons, spas, day spas, ...
or academy, the "Congress of the Wits" (''Congresso degli Arguti''), with Pasquino always the leader, and the sculptures that Romans called
Marphurius,
Abbot Luigi,
Il Facchino,
Madama Lucrezia, and
Il Babbuino as his outspoken colleagues. The ''cartelli'' (translated as posters, placards, boards; probably the equivalent of pamphlet) on which the epigrams were written were quickly passed around, and copies were made, too numerous to suppress.
[Copies in private daybooks have preserved some that were too scurrilous to print.] These poems were collected and published annually by the Roman printer
Giacomo Mazzocchi as early as 1509, as ''Carmina apposita Pasquino'', and became well known all over
Europe
Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...
.
The
lampooning tradition was ancient among Romans. For a first-century versified lampoon, see
Domus Aurea
The Domus Aurea (Latin, "Golden House") was a vast landscaped complex built by the Roman Empire, Emperor Nero largely on the Oppian Hill in the heart of ancient Rome after the Great Fire of Rome, great fire in 64 AD had destroyed a large part ...
.
See also
*The
Scior Carera in
Milan
Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...
Notes
References
"The Statue of Pasquino"
{{Authority control
Hellenistic-style Roman sculptures
Renaissance Rome
Italian satire
Italian political satire
Talking statues of Rome
Rome R. VI Parione
Sculptures of men in Italy
1500s archaeological discoveries