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Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Every year Visconti commemorates a famous character. For 2023, we have chosen to pay tribute to Alexander the Great (356-323 BC).

“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.”

-Alexander the Great

STATESMAN AND WARRIOR

Winner of numerous battles and conqueror of many territories, Alexander the Great died in Babylon when he was only 32 years old, but left behind an extraordinary legacy. He founded and re-established numerous cities, among them the biggest of the ancient world, Alexandria in Egypt, the center of the Hellenistic civilization.

He knew how to encourage his people for their excellence in battle in ways that brought out greater excellence. Although he would take away the political autonomy of those he conquered, he would not take away either their cultural heritage or their way of life.

A NATURAL-BORN LEADER

The pen stands next to a beautiful bronze sculpture of Alexander on horseback. Legend has it that he won that horse during a bet he had made with his father in front of a group of foreign ambassadors when he was only ten years old by claiming that he would be able to ride an extremely unruly stallion. He succeeded, and that horse became his lifelong trusted companion and warhorse, which he named Bucephalus since his head was broad like that of a bull. It is said that the taming of the horse taught him confidence and determination that led him to the conquest of the world.