A Statue for a Warrior

When Como 1907 revealed a bust of Alessandro Gabrielloni on their social channels, it caught many by surprise. The club’s striker, who arrived in Serie D and climbed four divisions with the Biancoblù, had just departed on loan to Juve Stabia. And yet, in the week he said his temporary goodbyes, the club announced something lasting: a statue.

The version first shown was only a mock up, a work in progress in plastiline. The real statue, carved from white Carrara marble, will stand close to the Stadio Sinigaglia at a later date, a permanent reminder of a player whose career became entwined with the city itself. For Gabrielloni, who recently renewed his contract until 2028, the gesture carried weight. “It is not the end,” he said, a line that resonated across social feeds and in the stands. His future may, for now, be in Juve Stabia colours, but Como is still home.

The commission went to Pusterla Marmi, a family company rooted in Como since the 1970s. Angela Pusterla, who runs the business with her brother Lorenzo, describes the process. They were sent photographs to create a bust in a particular pose. The sculptor Cimarosti is working first in plastiline. Once approved, it will move to plaster, then scanned with 3D technology and transferred into CNC machines. A block of white Carrara marble is chosen, roughly shaped, and finally refined by hand, modelled, polished, and smoothed until complete. For Angela, the meaning of the work is simple: “It represents a tenacious player, a warrior who wants to win. Even the sculptor said, looking at his photos, this is really a warrior.”

Gabrielloni is more than a number nine. He is part of the club’s story: arriving as a young forward in the lower leagues, he became a symbol of persistence. To Pusterla too, that connection runs deep. “He represents us. Like him, we also started from nothing and have grown. He embodies the strength and determination of a winner.” Statues have a way of fixing time. “The concept of eternity,” Angela explains, “means that in that moment you capture an image that remains forever. Anyone, even years later, who looks at it cannot remain indifferent.”

When the marble finally takes its place by the lakefront, the Gabrielloni statue will not just be a tribute to a player. It will be a reflection of a journey shared between a man, a club, and a city, an image to stand beside the water long after the seasons have changed.