Francesco Antonio Cassarini known as Panzetta, model for the equestrian monument of Francesco III d'Este Duke of Modena, 1750, white Carrara marble Francesco Antonio Cassarini known as Panzetta BOZZETTO PER IL MONUMENTO EQUESTRE A FRANCESCO III D'ESTE DUCA DI MODENA, 1750 sculpture in white Carrara marble with red marble inserts on the base. On the front of the base inscription: FRANCISCUS/ TERTIUS/ DUX MUTINAE/ Inv. et Sculp: Fran:/ Panzetta Carrarie/ an: 1750 . Cm 71x47x22.5 Literature D. Colli, A. Garuti, G. Martinelli Braglia , I secoli della meraviglia. The Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries , Modena 2010, pp. 46-47 The sculpture presented here, already known to critics following a publication in 2010, represents the sketch for a commemorative monument dedicated to Francesco III d'Este, Duke of Modena and Reggio from 1737 to 1780 and Lord of Varese from 1765 to 1780. The years of his rule represented a very intense and eventful period for Modena, in which the Este court excelled in entertainment and pageantry. In 1738, the Tambura road was inaugurated, an important road that crossed the Apuan Alps and connected the Garfagnana to Massa, finally connecting Modena with the sea. This event led to the design of an equestrian monument dedicated to Francis III in the act of pointing in the direction of the hill where the new road crossed the hills. The project was entrusted to Francesco Antonio Cassarini, the eighth director of the Academy of Architecture and Sculpture in Carrara, known as Panzetta, who produced the model presented here. In the meantime, however, Francis III himself sold the succession of Modena to Austria in exchange for the Governorship of Lombardy, where he went, never to return. Instead, the ailing and unhealthy Panzetta returned from London, in such a condition that he was unable to realise the final work, which was instead entrusted to Cybei to be erected in Piazza Sant'Agostino, but was later removed and destroyed.