Giuseppe Verdi Monument
The Giuseppe Verdi Monument is a sculpture in honor of composer Giuseppe Verdi located in Verdi Square Park in Manhattan, New York City. The statue, by Pasquale Civiletti, depicts Verdi flanked by four of his most popular characters: Falstaff, Leonora of La forza del destino, Aida, and Otello.
The monument was dedicated on Columbus Day, October 12, 1906, by the Verdi Monument Committee chaired by Carlo Barsotti, an Italian-American who hoped to inspire young Italian Americans. He was the founding editor of the Il Progresso Italo-Americano Italian-American newspaper, and used its pages to raise funds for this and several other memorials including the Columbus Circle monument, an 1888 monument to Giuseppe Garibaldi in Washington Square Park, a monument to Giovanni da Verrazzano and the 1921 monument to Dante Alighieri in Dante Square.
A permanent maintenance endowment for the monument has been established by Bertolli USA. The monument is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
