Colossus of Barletta (Eraclio) (Barletta)

Italy / Apulien / Barletta / Corso Vittorio Emanuele II
 statue, monument

The Colossus of Barletta is a large bronze statue of an Eastern Roman emperor, nearly three times life size (5.11 meters, or about 16 feet 7 inches) and currently located in Barletta, Italy.

The statue reportedly washed up on a shore, after a Venetian ship sank returning from the sack of Constantinople in the Fourth Crusade in 1204. The identity of the Emperor is uncertain. According to tradition, it depicts Heraclius (reign 610-641 AD); though this is most unlikely on historical and art-historical grounds. More likely subjects are Theodosius II (reign 408-450 AD), who may have had it erected in Ravenna in 439, Honorius (reign 393-423 AD), Valentinian I (r. 364-375) or Marcian (r.450-7).
Nearby cities:
Coordinates:   41°19'9"N   16°16'53"E
This article was last modified 7 years ago