Age
?XII century, ?XIV century
Designer
Unknown
The Colonna di San Zanobi stands in Piazza San Giovanni, in front of the North door of the San Giovanni Baptistery. According to some historical sources, the column is a reconstruction of 1334; the terrible flood of 1333 that swept away all the bridges of Firenze, inexorably destroyed it; according to other sources, the column is the original, dated to the second half of the XII century; it was only restored after being overwhelmed by the flood of the Arno river. The column was built in the same place where a miracle linked to the cult of San Zanobi occurred: during the moving of the San Zanobi relics to Santa Reparata, a dry elm, in the middle of winter, at the contact with the sarcophagus, would be miraculously revived (the dates of miracles are contrasting, V or IX century accordind to different historical sources). In 1338 the column was crowned with the cross at the top and in 1375 an inscription, recalling the legend of San Zanobi, was added. To date, the cross and the original pedestal are housed inside the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo, while above the column there is a fiberglass copy.
The column is made of a greek Marble (Cipollino/Carystium), its base is in white Marble. Nowadays the cross and its base are a fiberglass copy; the original is housed in the Museo dell’Opera del Duomo.
