Column of the Immaculate Conception

The Marian column was consecrated in 1857 after Pius IX. In 1854 he proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of Mary, which states that Mary was conceived free from original sin. The 11.80 m high ancient column made of Cipollino marble is crowned by a bronze statue of the Madonna created by Giuseppe Obici. The figures on the base were created by four artists: King David by Adamo Tadolini, Isaiah by Salvatore Revelli, Ezekiel by Carlo Chelli and Moses by Ignazio Jacometti.

Behind the column is the Palazzo di Propaganda Fide, a work by Gian Lorenzo Bernini and Francesco Borromini. The palace is the seat of the 1622 by Gregory XV. founded Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith.

In the tradition of his predecessors, Pope Francis visited the Marian column for prayer on the feast day of December 8 (a public holiday in Italy). The Vatican newspaper reports:
"The Pope held a short prayer in front of the Marian column at Spanish Square. On the Solemnity of the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, conceived without original sin, the Pope paused for a prayer at 6.15 a.m.. Francis laid a prayer at the foot of the 12-metre-high column wreath of white roses. The wreath was then draped over one arm of the statue of Mary by firefighters." (Source: L'Osservatore Romano, edition 50/2021)

The Column of the Immaculate Conception is an honorary column in the Piazza Mignanelli, the southern extension of the Piazza di Spagna in Rome.