The Monument represents one of the few examples in Sicily of the project promoted by Pope Leo XIII for the Jubilee of 1900, when the idea was initially to build twenty statues of Christ the Redeemer throughout Italy, though only six or seven were completed due to budget constraints. Thanks to the efforts of Bishop Ignazio Zuccaro and Mayor Berengario Gaetani, the local committee commissioned the statue from the Roman firm “Rosa e Zanazio” and entrusted the design of the base to the Palermo architect Ernesto Basile, also the author of the Teatro Massimo in Palermo. The foundation stone was laid on May 13, 1900, and the Redeemer, measuring 4.85 m in height and weighing 2 tons, was cast from the bronze of two pontifical cannons. It was transported to the summit on a cart pulled by six pairs of oxen and blessed on July 30 by Cardinal Francica-Nava. The pedestal, built of local gray limestone, has a square plan that transforms into a cylinder, housing inside a small chapel and a crypt, and is surrounded by a staircase.
From the paved belvedere, one can enjoy a wide view over the city and central Sicily, while the statue, oriented northeast with its back turned to Caltanissetta, has over time inspired legends about its supposed distant gaze. In reality, its eyes are directed towards the Vatican. The Feast of the Redeemer, celebrated on August 6th in conjunction with the Transfiguration of Jesus, still today gathers faithful and visitors in procession from the historic center up to the monument, enlivening the hill with floral decorations and illuminations that combine devotion with popular festivity.