On Sept. 19, Italian Prime Minister Georgia Meloni visited Manhattan’s embattled Christopher Columbus statue as a rebuke to NYC’s politicians, who are currently weighing whether to rip down the 131-year-old monument that stands in Columbus Circle at the edge of Central Park.
Meloni participated in a wreath-laying ceremony honoring Columbus, just hours after New York’s City Council held a hearing on proposed legislation targeting monuments and other artwork featuring the explorer, as well as other icons such as George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, The New York Post reports.
Italian PM Giorgia Meloni pops up to support NYC’s Christopher Columbus statue https://t.co/Z1Es9aGjxz pic.twitter.com/BrVF6r19kw
— New York Post (@nypost) September 20, 2023
“Through this important reaffirmation of identity, the President celebrated a symbol of the cultural and moral history of the American people,” according to a statement from Meloni’s office.
“Meloni showed the Italian Americans that we have her support and the support of the Italian people — we’re not forgotten,” said Joseph Scelsa, president of the Italian American Museum, who attended the wreath-laying event.
Removing the 76-foot Columbus Circle statue could prove difficult, as the National Park Service in 2018 added the monument to its list of protected landmarks.
The statue was originally unveiled on Oct. 13, 1892, the day after the first national Columbus Day Parade, which drew an astounding 1 million people to New York City.
The parade and statue were respectively organized and installed at the direction of U.S. President Benjamin Harrison to resolve a boiling diplomatic crisis between America and Italy.
In 1891, the largest lynch mob ever to assemble on U.S. soil murdered 11 innocent Italian immigrants in New Orleans. The lynching was reported around the world, and the murders fractured relations between the two nations (talk of war was briefly on the table between Italy and the U.S.).
Despite this history, Columbus statues have been reinterpreted as symbols of hate, enslavement and colonialism by reformists who are unaware of the full story.
Meanwhile, Italian Sons and Daughters of America continues its fight to save Pittsburgh’s Columbus statue. Attorney George Bochetto is leading the case, which is in the appeal process.
Read on: The First Columbus Day Arose From Bloodshed and Political Calculation
