Carlo Romanelli
Encyclopedia
Carlo Alfred Romanelli was an Italian sculptor, born in Florence
, Italy
August 24, 1872 and died August 9, 1947. He came to the United States in 1902, settling in Los Angeles, California
. He moved to Detroit, Michigan
in the early 1920s. He was the son of Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli
(1856 - 1928) who created the 1927 bust of Dante Alighieri
on Belle Isle Park
in Detroit. Among Carlo Romanelli's Detroit works are the bronze tablet of Cadillac's
landing, now at the Cadillac Center People Mover
Station downtown, and La Pieta at the entrance of Mt. Elliott Cemetery. Carlo attended the Royal Academy of Art in Italy and studied with his father and sculptor Augusto Rivalta
; Rivalta's Detroit statue of Christopher Columbus
(1910) is now at Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street.
Other works by Romanelli completed for Detroit include a bust of Bishop Foley
, which was not sited.
Florence
Florence is the capital city of the Italian region of Tuscany and of the province of Florence. It is the most populous city in Tuscany, with approximately 370,000 inhabitants, expanding to over 1.5 million in the metropolitan area....
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
August 24, 1872 and died August 9, 1947. He came to the United States in 1902, settling in Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
. He moved to Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan
Detroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
in the early 1920s. He was the son of Italian sculptor Raffaello Romanelli
Raffaello Romanelli
Raffaello Romanelli was an Italian sculptor, born in Florence, Italy. His work includes many public monuments in honour of eminent Italians and others....
(1856 - 1928) who created the 1927 bust of Dante Alighieri
Dante Alighieri
Durante degli Alighieri, mononymously referred to as Dante , was an Italian poet, prose writer, literary theorist, moral philosopher, and political thinker. He is best known for the monumental epic poem La commedia, later named La divina commedia ...
on Belle Isle Park
Belle Isle Park
Belle Isle is a island park in the Detroit River, between the United States mainland and Canada, managed by the Detroit Recreation Department. It is connected to the rest of Detroit, Michigan by the MacArthur Bridge...
in Detroit. Among Carlo Romanelli's Detroit works are the bronze tablet of Cadillac's
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac
Antoine Laumet de La Mothe, sieur de Cadillac was a French explorer and adventurer in New France, now an area of North America stretching from Eastern Canada in the north to Louisiana in the south. Rising from a modest beginning in Acadia in 1683 as an explorer, trapper, and a trader of alcohol...
landing, now at the Cadillac Center People Mover
Detroit People Mover
The Detroit People Mover is a automated people mover system which operates on a single set of tracks, and encircles downtown Detroit, Michigan....
Station downtown, and La Pieta at the entrance of Mt. Elliott Cemetery. Carlo attended the Royal Academy of Art in Italy and studied with his father and sculptor Augusto Rivalta
Augusto Rivalta
Augusto Rivalta One of the “outstanding Italian sculptors of the late 19th century,’’ Rivalta was born in Alexandria, Egypt to Italian parents. He studied with Aristodemo Costoli and Giovanni Duprè in Florence and in Genoa before settling in Florence...
; Rivalta's Detroit statue of Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus was an explorer, colonizer, and navigator, born in the Republic of Genoa, in northwestern Italy. Under the auspices of the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, he completed four voyages across the Atlantic Ocean that led to general European awareness of the American continents in the...
(1910) is now at Jefferson Avenue and Randolph Street.
Other works by Romanelli completed for Detroit include a bust of Bishop Foley
John Samuel Foley
John Samuel Foley was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Detroit from 1888 until his death in 1918.-Biography:...
, which was not sited.
Further reading
- Nawrocki, Dennis and Thomas Holleman, Art in Detroit Public Places, Wayne State University Press, Detroit, Michigan 1980