In 1910, a colossal statue was built at a point on the coast of Italian Liguria, near the town of Monterosso. It was about a figure of the god Neptune 14 meters high and classic style that should decorate the viewpoint of Villa Pastin. The erosion of the sea and the allied bombs in World War II have greatly damaged the Monterosso Giant, which despite everything remains one of the great attractions of this region.
It was designed and built by the sculptor Arrigo Minerbi, a well-known Jewish Italian artist in his time whose creations decorated many temples and buildings in cities in the north of the country. Minerbi had to flee Italy because of the persecution of the Jews in the 30s, saving him the pain of seeing his creation destroyed by war.
Although the Giant lost his arms, his trident, and the giant shell that he had held up, he remains one of Monterosso's great attractions. Some see in this destruction a way to equate the statue with other works of the ancient era, battered by time and by the ravages of war.
In 1982 an intrepid climber discovered a hidden treasure on the heels of the giants. After him many others tried but there is nothing left there. The ruins of the Giant of Monterosso blend into the landscape on the rocky face of the cliff, withstanding the fury of the sea with decadent elegance.
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