The obelisk of Ostuni is dedicated to the patron saint of the city: St. Oronzo, who spared the people of Ostuni from the plague of 1740. The column (or spire) of St. Oronzo (20.75m high) stands in Piazza della Libertà. Carved in baroque style on local stone in 1771 by Giuseppe Greco from Ostuni, the column bears Latin inscriptions that say: "O ospite, la mole che vede, la mole che la vede, you owe it to the people who put in perennial devotion, to the divine Oronzo, thanks to whom the hunger was extinguished, the epidemic was averted and health restored. As a sign of respect the citizens and the people dedicated in 1771". At the top is the statue of the saint, dressed in bishop’s vestments and represented in the act of blessing the people. At about half height, on a balustrade decorated with cherubs supporting the cartouches bearing the above mentioned inscriptions, there are the statues of Saints Biagio, Agostino, Irene and Giorgio Armeno.
