The Monumento all'Indiano or ''Monument to the Indian'', more specifically "Monument to the

Maratha The Marathi people (Marathi: मराठी लोक) or Marathis are an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group who are indigenous to Maharashtra in western India. They natively speak Marathi, an Indo-Aryan language. Maharashtra was formed as a M ...

Maharajah Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

, Rajaram Chhatrapati" consisting of a '' chhatri'' or small raised dome, in Italian terms a

baldacchino A baldachin, or baldaquin (from it, baldacchino), is a canopy of state typically placed over an altar or throne. It had its beginnings as a cloth canopy, but in other cases it is a sturdy, permanent architectural feature, particularly over h ...

, over the bust of the Indian prince, at the west end of the

Parco delle Cascine The Parco delle Cascine (Cascine Park) is a monumental and historical park in the city of Florence. The park covers an area of 160 hectares (395 acres). It has the shape of a long and narrow stripe, on the north bank of the Arno river. It extends ...

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico an ...

Tuscany Tuscany ( ; it, Toscana ) is a Regions of Italy, region in central Italy with an area of about and a population of about 3.8 million inhabitants. The regional capital is Florence (''Firenze''). Tuscany is known for its landscapes, history, art ...

, Italy.

Description

This is an unusual monument attached to an unusual event. In 1870, returning from London after paying his respects to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

, the 21-year-old Maharajah

Rajaram II Rajaram II (April 13, 1850 – November 30, 1870), of the Bhonsle dynasty, was a Raja of Kolhapur from August 18, 1866 to November 30, 1870. During his reign, the gun salute of the state was increased from 17 to 19 guns. The first of his line t ...

died from a febrile illness in his hotel room in the "La Pace Hotel". His courtiers asked to conduct a

cremation Cremation is a method of Disposal of human corpses, final disposition of a Cadaver, dead body through Combustion, burning. Cremation may serve as a funeral or post-funeral rite and as an alternative to burial. In some countries, including India ...

, or

Antyesti Antyesti (IAST: Antyeṣṭi, sa, अन्त्येष्टि) literally means "last sacrifice", and refers to the funeral rites for the dead in Hinduism, which usually involves cremation of the body. This rite of passage is the last sams ...

ceremony, at the confluence of two rivers. They were able to perform a ceremony at the confluence of the

Arno The Arno is a river in the Tuscany region of Italy. It is the most important river of central Italy after the Tiber. Source and route The river originates on Monte Falterona in the Casentino area of the Apennines, and initially takes a s ...

and stream of the Mugnone, near this site in the park. The events and the ceremony elicited a great deal of curiosity in the public. The act of cremation, banned in Florence, led to a fierce argument among doctors and scientists as to the merits and morals of the funeral technique. The costs of the monument were financed by the British government, who employed the sculptor Charles Francis Fuller, who used an Indian form in a version of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The base has inscriptions in English, Italian, Hindi, and Punjabi. In 1972, a modern bridge was built near the site and takes the name of Ponte all'Indiano.Toscana
by Remo Carulli, Alessandro Agostinelli, Sara Fiorillo, entry on memorial (2015).

References

{{reflist Monuments and memorials in Florence Outdoor sculptures in Florence Busts in Italy Sculptures of men in Italy Indo-Saracenic Revival architecture