The Giuseppe Verdi Monument is a sculpture honoring composer Giuseppe Verdi in Verdi Square Park (between 72nd and 73rd Streets, Amsterdam Avenue, and

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

) in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York City. The statue was created by Italian sculptor . The monument measures tall and up to across. The

pedestal A pedestal (from French ''piédestal'', Italian ''piedistallo'' 'foot of a stall') or plinth is a support at the bottom of a statue, vase, column, or certain altars. Smaller pedestals, especially if round in shape, may be called socles. In ...

is made of dark granite steps, topped by a cylinder, and measures tall. Statues of four characters from Verdi's operas are on the pedestal:

Aida ''Aida'' (or ''Aïda'', ) is an opera in four acts by Giuseppe Verdi to an Italian libretto by Antonio Ghislanzoni. Set in the Old Kingdom of Egypt, it was commissioned by Cairo's Khedivial Opera House and had its première there on 24 Decemb ...

, Otello, Leonora of '' La forza del destino'', and

Falstaff Sir John Falstaff is a fictional character who appears in three plays by William Shakespeare and is eulogised in a fourth. His significance as a fully developed character is primarily formed in the plays '' Henry IV, Part 1'' and '' Part 2'', w ...

. These statues respectively face north, east, south, and west. The character statues are made of white Carrara marble, with large marble lyres placed between them. The western side of the pedestal contains an etching with Civiletti's name. A

time capsule A time capsule is a historic cache of goods or information, usually intended as a deliberate method of communication with future people, and to help future archaeologists, anthropologists, or historians. The preservation of holy relics dates ...

is embedded in the Verdi monument's base. The main statue of Verdi, placed atop the pedestal, is also made of white Carrara marble. The monument was dedicated on

Columbus Day Columbus Day is a national holiday in many countries of the Americas and elsewhere, and a federal holiday in the United States, which officially celebrates the anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the Americas on October 12, 1492. ...

, October 12, 1906, by the Verdi Monument Committee chaired by Carlo Barsotti (1850–1927), an Italian–American who hoped to inspire young Italian Americans. He was the founding editor of the ''

Il Progresso Italo-Americano ''Il Progresso Italo-Americano'' was an Italian-language daily newspaper in the United States, published in New York City from 1880 to 1988, when it was shut down due to a union dispute. In 1989, most journalists of ''Il Progresso'' reunited to crea ...

'' Italian-American newspaper, and used its pages to raise funds for this and several other memorials including the Columbus Circle monument, an 1888 monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi in

Washington Square Park Washington Square Park is a public park in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City. One of the best known of New York City's public parks, it is an icon as well as a meeting place and center for cultural activity. ...

, a monument to

Giovanni da Verrazzano Giovanni da Verrazzano ( , , often misspelled Verrazano in English; 1485–1528) was an Italian ( Florentine) explorer of North America, in the service of King Francis I of France. He is renowned as the first European to explore the Atlanti ...

(1909) and the 1921 monument to

Dante Alighieri Dante Alighieri (; – 14 September 1321), probably baptized Durante di Alighiero degli Alighieri and often referred to as Dante (, ), was an Italian poet, writer and philosopher. His ''Divine Comedy'', originally called (modern Italian: '' ...

in Dante Park. A permanent maintenance endowment for the monument has been established by

Bertolli Bertolli is a brand of Italian food products produced by multiple companies around the world with the trademark owned by Mizkan Holdings. Originating as a brand of extra-virgin olive oil, in which it was the global market leader, pasta sauces an ...

USA."Verdi Square"
City of New York, Parks & Recreation The monument is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

References

External links

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Photographs
Daytonian in Manhattan, January 17, 2014 {{DEFAULTSORT:Verdi, Giuseppe, Monument 1906 establishments in New York City 1906 sculptures Buildings and structures completed in 1906 Buildings and structures on the National Register of Historic Places in Manhattan

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, hist ...

Limestone statues in the United States Marble sculptures in New York City Monuments and memorials in Manhattan Monuments and memorials on the National Register of Historic Places in New York City

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

Outdoor sculptures in Manhattan Statues of musicians in the United States Italian-American culture in New York City