Christopher Columbus
On the occasion of the twinning between the city of Genoa (Italy) and Columbus (Ohio) in 1955, the city of Genoa proclaimed a national competition for an artistic work to be donated to the other city.
The competition was won by Edoardo Alfieri who made a massive statue. The sculpture, with a traditional and classic style of raffiguration, different from what Alfieri usually did, was requested like this by the city of Columbus and it represents the navigator in an advanced stage of his life without his usual dressing of an explorer.
It was inaugurated in 1955 in front of the City Hall of Columbus where it stayed until 2020 when it was removed after the protest movement of “Black Lives Matter” because it was considered a symbol of racism and colonialism.
In April 2023 the Columbus Historical Society inaugurated the Edoardo Alfieri exhibition thanks to a generous donation of sculptures and drawings by the Alfieri-Maisano Archive. The donation has the objective to show the people in Ohio that the artist was a son of his time projected towards contemporary art.
Christopher Colombus
Picture of the Statue in front of the maritime station in Genoa before the shipping over sea.
The statue is waiting for a reallocation
Picture of the statue in front of Columbus City Hall
The crowd that welcomed the sculpture
1955
Picture of the inauguration in Columbus, OH
Historical Photo
1955
Picture taken during the implementation
EDOARDO ALFIERI
All the photos and information are owned by the Alfieri-Maisano Archive and are subject to copyright.
It’s advised to always ask permission to the archive with every divulgation and publication of the material and, with the permission granted, to always quote the origins of the information, the Alfieri-Maisano Archive.
Stefania and Silvana Maisano
Contact us
archivioalfierimaisano@gmail.com
EDOARDO ALFIERI 