Dante Park
Encyclopedia
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
The park was established by Italian-Americans in honor of the Italian poet 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 ...
. Carlo Barsotti
Carlo Barsotti
Carlo Barsotti was an Italian-American newspaper and bank owner. He was born in Pisa, Italy in 1850 and died in New Jersey, United States in 1927.-Biography:Barsotti emigrated from Italy to New York City in 1872...
, editor of the paper Il Progresso Italo-Americano
Il Progresso Italo-Americano
Il Progresso Italo-Americano was an Italian-language daily newspaper in the United States, published from 1880 to 1988, when it was shut down due to a union dispute. In 1989, most journalists of Il Progresso reunited to create a new daily, America Oggi...
, originally wanted to gather funds for a much more substantial statue to be placed in Times Square
Times Square
Times Square is a major commercial intersection in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, at the junction of Broadway and Seventh Avenue and stretching from West 42nd to West 47th Streets...
around 1912. Because of fundraising difficulties, by 1921, the 600th anniversary of Dante's death, a smaller statue was completed by Ettore Ximenes
Ettore Ximenes
Ettore Ximenes was an Italian sculptor of mostly religious and mythological subjects.- Biography:...
and placed in the location at Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
at West 64th Street.
A statue of the same casting is featured at Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park
Meridian Hill Park, is located in the Washington, D.C. neighborhood of Columbia Heights in the United States. The 12 acres of landscaped grounds are maintained by the National Park Service as part of Rock Creek Park, but are not contiguous with the main part of that park...
in Washington, DC.