Rea Silvia
by VALDAMBRINO, Francesco di, Marble, height 162 cm
The Fonte Gaia in Siena included allusions to the city’s Roman history and Christian virtues, culminating in the central Madonna and Child. While most of the sculpture was in relief, two freestanding figures formed part of the Roman iconography: Acca Larentia, the goatherd’s wife who cared for the young Romulus and Remus, and Rea Silvia, their mother. The latter was carved from Jacopo della Quercia’s model by his collaborator Francesco di Valdambrino.