Portrait bust of Queen Margherita of Savoy

This work, created at the end of the nineteenth century, was commissioned by the "Italian women" who offered it as a gift to the Queen of Italy, Margherita of Savoy (1851-1926), wife of Umberto I (1878-1900).  Her portrait bust, depicting the queen with her neck covered with a dense series of pearl necklaces, is supported by a slender floral-shaped plate, adorned with small medallions in which the faces of some Italian saints are visible, interspersed with small daisies, which refer to queen’s first name, Margherita, when translated into English. The column rests on four boats, each one identified by the coat of arms of the maritime republics to symbolize the role of the sovereign, who represented centuries of religious and civil history of a nation that had finally been reunited. A representative of the Savoy monarchy thus became the female personification of all Italy, taking on strong patriotic significance.