John of Austria on the Victory of Lepanto

John of Austria, sculpted by Andrea Calamech in 1572, is a monumental bronze statue facing the Church of Santissima Annunziata dei Teatini in Messina. Erected to honor the commander of the triple alliance during the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the statue was relocated several times, notably after the Sicilian revolution of 1848 and the Messina earthquake of 1908.

The statue portrays John holding a three-pronged baton, symbolizing his alliance with Philip II, the Pope, and the Republic of Venice. He stands over a vanquished Turk, generally believed to be Müezzinzade Ali Pasha. The pedestal is adorned with bronze plaques depicting the battle, its victorious return to Messina, and an inscription.

Originally located between the Royal Palace and the Church of Our Lady of the Pillar, the monument was decided by the Senate of Messina in 1571. William Stirling-Maxwell called it one of the most effective monuments of sixteenth-century art. A copy of the statue was erected in Regensburg, John's birthplace, in 1978.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons