[Photo by Kate Mereand-Sinha]
There are no shortage of memorials in the city dedicated to American heroes. Look all around the city and there are statues and plaques commemorating presidents, war heroes, artists and citizens. However, there are fewer works of public art in D.C. that celebrate the famed citizens of other nations. Enter this sculpture of Italian poet Dante Alighieri in Meridian Hill Park. The poet almost looks brooding, surrounded by trees and lording over the park with a laurel crown and holding a copy of his popular work, the Divine Comedy. Italian artist Ettore Ximenes constructed the bronze sculpture in the early 1920s and it was dedicated as a tribute to the country's Italian-Americans. As it happens, Ximenes' Dante Alighieri also isn't terribly far away from the sculpture of an American president, James Buchanan.
· Dante Alighieri (Ximenes) [Wikipedia]
· All Hidden Memorials [CDC]