In 1962, Giovanni Carandente organized the open-air exhibition “Sculpture in the City (“Sculture in Città “) in Spoleto. One of the works was going to be what is now seen as one of the symbols of the city, the Teodelapio sculpture in front of the railway station. It is made by the American sculptor Alexander Calder (1898-1976).
A brief history of the Teodelapio sculpture in Spoleto
Originally Calder had wanted to design one of the “mobiles” he was famous for. The mobiles consist of a number of rods, from which weighted objects or further rods hang and balance each other.
In the end, he chose for the black painted steel sculpture as it can be seen now. His model, enlarged 27 times, was made in a steel factory in Savona. It was then shipped to Spoleto, where the various pieces were welded together.
Calder named the sculpture after a Lombard king after having seen pictures of the man wearing a pointed crown.