Roadside memorial

Description

Found in 1863 in San Piero a Strada during cellar construction on the bellosguardo estate. Made of gray sandstone, dating to the 6th century BC. Parallelepiped-shaped, bulbous-topped memorial stone with a square base. On the four faces of the cippus are figures represented in bas-relief. The face facing us depicts an armed man with a pronounced cowl helmet with a large crest, truncated neck and broad shield, facing to the left and holding a spear at rest in his hand. On the two side faces we note rampant griffins seen in profile, with elongated neck , on the other face a rampant lion is represented, in profile and facing left, with folded ears and broad mane. The monument is sober, without too many decorated parts, while the bas-relief figures, given their position, make for a circular and continuous reading. The warrior faithfully responds to the iconographic model reproduced in the trebbio stele, while unremarkable are the representations on the other faces.