Monument to Pope Innocent XI (1697-1701) by Pierre-Etienne Monnot (Benedetto Odescalchi, Como, b.1611/r.1676-89) The monument to Pope Innocent XI is by the French sculptor Pierre-Etienne Monnot (1657-1733). The pope is flanked by statues of Religion and Fortitude. The relief depicts the Raising of the Siege of Vienna in 1683.
Innocent XI is regarded as one of the outstanding popes of the 17th century, a man of high moral character. He refused, for example, to indulge in a common papal practise, that of nepotism.