[Unveiled 1965 by George Delacorte]
Christopher Columbus 1451-1506 [Unveiled 1892]
b. Genoa, Italy • d. Valladolid, Spain
Sculptor: Gaetano Russo • Italy
Donated by Italians in U.S. through
subscriptions raised by newspaper,
Il Progresso the city's largest-circulation
foreign-language daily newspaper.
Situated in the center of Columbus Circle,
at the southwest perimeter of Central Park
is a magnificent towering marble statue ofChristopher Columbus. The Italian mariner
and navigator, is credited as the first
European to sail across the Atlantic Ocean
and with the discovery of the American
continent. He stands atop the monument
on a 70-foot granite column with bronze reliefs.
The three ships depicted on the column
represent the Nina, the Pinta, and the
Santa Maria, the ships he sailed in 1492.
At its base is a fountain with an angel
holding a globe.
Four hundred years later, to commemorate
his voyage, this statue of Columbus was
unveiled and presented by Italy to the
United States.
