| According to legend, Orlando helped the people of Ragusa fight off a Saracen attack in the 9th century. Since the Orlando of poetic lore died in battle in 778, the legend defies plausibility. Other free cities also erected statues of Orlando, with the knight's image representing a city's status as a free-trade city-state. It is likely Dubrovnik's Orlando statue had a similar purpose. This particular sculpture is chiseled into a stone column in the center of Luza Square. It was erected in 1419 and once served as the city's forum for public proclamations, notices, rallies, and punishments. In 1990 a flag with the Libertas motto was flown above the column, and it became a rallying point for Dubrovnik's freedom fighters.
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