The Hunchback of Rialto is a sculptural complex consisting of an Istrian stone statue flanked by a red granite column located in front of the church of San Giacomo di Rialto in Venice.
Sculpted by Pietro da Salò in 1541, the statue represents a crouched
naked man supporting a small flight of stairs, known as the "hunchback"
due to his position, flanked by a truncated red granite column, known as
the Colonna del Bando, from the city of Acre as spoils of war. It was
used as a podium for official proclamations: an officer read the most
important laws of the Republic of Venice or the names of those sentenced
to death while standing on the block at the end of the staircase. Its
location in the immediate vicinity of the Rialto market, one of the
busiest areas of the population at the time, made it ideal for this kind
of communication.
It was also used as a point of arrival for
those - especially thieves - who suffered the penalty of flogging: the
offender was stripped and whipped from Piazza San Marco to the Rialto
and to end the torture he had to kiss the statue. Since the Church
considered this gesture a pagan act, in 1545 a metal cross (Croce dei
frustài, i.e. "cross of the whipped") was placed in the adjacent pillar
as a new point to kiss to end the sentence. The traces of the cross, now
disappeared, are still visible engraved in the pillar.
In 1836 it
was restored with funds provided by the city; in the block above the
hunchback's head there is an inscription in Latin with the date of the
restoration:
«Stone for the laws enacted by the (public) Republic
returned to the citizens (in)a(year) 1836»
It is said to communicate with Pasquino, one of Rome's talking
statues. From the early 16th century Pasquino, a bust, was used as an
agent for critical commentary against the Pope and the authorities:
satirical notes would be anonymously attached to the base of the statue
purporting to come from Pasquino himself. In the 17th century Pasquino
exchanged correspondence with Il Gobbo concerning the Republic of
Venice, Pope Paul V and the writings of Cardinals Baronio and
Bellarmino.
Some scholars claim that the characters of William
Shakespeare's Merchant of Venice Lancelot Gobbo and his father Vecchio
Gobbo would be inspired by this traditional symbol of the Rialto.