Meridian Hill Park: The Dante Alighieri Statue

*The Dante Alighieri Statue in Meridian Hill Park, Washington, D.C.*

Nestled near the southeast entrance to the park (at 15th and W Streets, NW) stands the Dante Alighieri (1265-1361) statue in Meridian Hill Park, sculpted and cast by Ettore Ximenes (1855-1926). The statue is a replica of the then much-maligned Dante statue presented to New York City in 1912 by Carlo Barsotti (1850-1927), president of the Dante Commission and editor of the Il Progresso Italo-Americano daily Italian-language newspaper, which was published from 1880-1988. The New York City statue sat in crates in Hoboken for nearly a decade due to a disagreement with New York City’s Municipal Arts Commission over the statue’s excessive height (50 feet) and overly large base. After adjustments were made to the problematic base, which reduced the statue’s height to just over 25 feet, New York City’s statue was unceremoniously unveiled on November 5, 1921, at what is now called Dante Park at 63rd Street and Broadway.

The Meridian Hill Park statue was unveiled on December 1, 1921, in an elaborate ceremony attended by President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923), Ambassador Vittorio Rolandi Ricci (1860-1951) of Italy, and Ambassador Jean Jules Jusserand (1855-1932) of France, as well as several hundred members of Italian societies from the region. A parade of Italian Washingtonians and bands marched from 11th and I Streets, NW, to the park to attend the dedication ceremony and benediction by Catholic Monsignor Giovanni Vincenzo Bonzano (1867-1927).