The Virgin Mary on the Cross!

Map

Monument marking the conversion of King Henry IV of France, Santa Maria Maggiore

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In a courtyard of the church of Santa Maria Maggiore stands a curious monument, which was erected to celebrate the conversion of King Henry IV of France (r. 1589-94) to Catholicism in 1593.  

The monument is made up of a granite column, in the shape of the barrel of a cannon, capped with a Cross. What intrigues me most about it are the figures on the Cross. In addition to Christ, there is also the Virgin Mary and Child, the only example of its kind that I know of in Rome, or elsewhere for that matter.

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