the arch has three openings, a larger central one with two smaller lateral ones. the arch is bedecked with ten columns with corinthian capitals. most of the sculptures and reliefs were requisitioned locally. it has bas-reliefs celebrating the imperial role in italy, along with depictions of flags and weapons. the southern facade has two double-headed eagles, the symbol of the habsburg dynasty. atop the arch is an equestrian statue, putatively of francis stephen himself, apparently marching out of the city. atop the apparently safe perch of the plinth, cringe nearly a half-dozen allegorical mythologic statues, as if they were the last austrian contingent in tuscany, besieged by the swirling italian traffic around the park. it is said that crowds in 1859 belittled the fleeing duke leopold ii as the second "baby leopold", the prior one entering florence under regency.