The bust was bought by the municipality in 1870 from the main local sculptor Pietro Civeri (1815-1872). The occasion was the dedication of Romani’s name to the city’s high school. Civeri was especially operative in Rome, but he was also the author of many works in his hometown, for example Giovanni Vicenza Ponzone’s and Luigi Chiozzi's monuments in St Stephen’s Cathedral.
The stack of books used as basis for the bust alludes to Giovanni Romani's great production (1757-1822) as historian, memorialist and linguist (he wrote History of Casalmaggiore, posthumously published).
