Medieval Rome also preserved confused recollections of the
same kind. At the church of Sant' Ambrogio at Milan, there was an
ancient marble Hercules; so long, it was said, as this stood in its
place, so long would the Empire last. That of the Germans is probably
meant, as the coronation of their emperors at Milan took place in this
church. The Florentines were convinced that the temple of Mars,
afterwards transformed into the Baptistery, would stand to the end of
time, according to the constellation under which it had been built;
they had, as Christians, removed from it the marble equestrian statue;
but since the destruction of the latter would have brought some great
calamity on the city--also according to a constellation--they set it
upon a tower by the Arno. When Totila conquered Florence, the statue
fell into the river, and was not fished out again till Charlemagne
refounded the city. It was then placed on a pillar at the entrance to
the Ponte Vecchio, and on this spot Buondelmonti was slain in 1215. The
origin of the great feud between Guelph and Ghibelline was thus
associated with the dreaded idol. During the inundation of 1333 the
statue vanished for ever.
But the same Telesma reappears elsewhere. Guido Bonatto, already
mentioned, was not satisfied, at the refounding of the walls of Forli,
with requiring certain symbolic acts of reconciliation from the two
parties.
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