L’Arco della Pace in costruzione

The view records the state of work on the Arch of Peace in mid-1836, when the construction site was still in full swing: scaffolding still encased the more or less completed architectural structure, and work was underway to place the bronze sculptures designed by Abbondio Sangiorgio and cast by Luigi Manfredini. While one of the equestrian Victories has already been positioned, five of the six horses remain on the ground, on stone blocks, and another sculpture—partially visible—awaits installation. The four rivers of Lombardo Veneto, sculpted by Pompeo Marchesi and Benedetto Cacciatori, are still missing, and the construction of the customs houses has just begun.
The cultural and construction enterprise of the Arch spans three decades and involves two regimes: in 1807, Luigi Cagnola, inspired by the Arch of Septimius Severus in Rome, designed a triumphal monument to celebrate Napoleonic feats. Napoleon's defeat and the change of government caused the suspension of the works, which resumed in 1826 at the behest of the Austrians, who changed the meaning and significance of the monument. The Arch, inaugurated in 1838 by Emperor Ferdinand I and dedicated to Austrian peace, is now one of the most recognizable symbols of Milan.