Description
Marble statue of a young Columbus.
Inscription(s)
On the base of the statue is the coat-of-arms of Genoa, the caravel and the date "MCCCCLX" (1460).
On a plate of the pedestal, the following poem is inscribed:
Al sol che tramontava sull'infinito mondo
Chiedeva Colombo giovinetto ancora
Quali altre terre, quali altri popoli
Avrebbe baciato ai suoi primi albori
Annotation
For other memorials of Columbus in the Castello d'Albertis, see the separate page.
"Colombo giovinetto" or "The First Inspiration of the Boy Columbus"
Columbus as a charming child at play: he is sitting on a mooring-post upon a pier, against which the waves are breaking; he is in deep meditation and holds a book in his hand.
The statue has been ordered to Giulio Monteverde by Cap. d'Albertis for his castle in Genoa. Actually, d'Albertis's nephew Filippo was the model for Columbus.
The sculpture was made in Rome in 1870, and won a gold medal at an exhibition at Parma, Italy. The original statue stands in the loggia in d'Albertis castle, the statue looks exactly in the direction of San Salvador, i.e. south-south west.
Copies, in marble and chalk, are in
- Bistagno (Italy),
- Boston,
- Parma,
- Göteborg,
- St. Petersburg, and
- Vancouver (BC).
Monteverdi carved shortly before his death in 1910 another statue of Columbus as a boy, of which a copy is in the Christopher Columbus High School in New York.
Sculptor
- Giulio Monteverde (Bistagno 1837 - Roma 1917),
Italian sculptor
(Wikipedia).
Sources & Information
- E-mail by Anna Giulia d'Albertis, 2 September 2004.
- Information sent to me by Alex Borgogno.
- Photo: Norbert Fiks, February 2003.
- Sullacrestadellonda, Genova: Castello d'Albertis (thanks to J.M. Urvoy for this reference).
Tags
Locatie (N 44°25'6" - E 8°55'28") (Satellite view: Google Maps)
Item Code: itli013;
Added: 2 September 2004
© Website: René & Peter van der Krogt
Your banner here? Click for information.
