The Column of the Immaculate Conception

Map

Bronze statue of the Virgin Mary by Giuseppe Obici

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In Piazza Mignanelli, a stone's throw from the Spanish Steps, stands the Colonna dell' Immacolata (Column of the Immaculate Conception). 

The column was dedicated on December 8th, 1857, to mark the publication, exactly three years earlier, of the papal bull Ineffabilis Deus, in which Pope Pius IX (r. 1846-78), ending centuries of heated debate, declared that the Virgin Mary was free of the stain (macula) of original sin from the moment of her conception. 
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Moses and King David

Isaiah and Ezekiel

The Annunciation by Francesco Gianfredi

The Dream of St Joseph by Nicola Cantalamessa Papotti

Fireman laying wreath

Old photograph of the Column of the Immaculate Conception (1890-1900)