President: Giampaolo Pioli    |    Editor in Chief: Stefano Vaccara
English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro 

  • Login
VNY La Voce di New York

The First Italian English Digital Daily Newspaper in the US

  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY
  • English Edition
  • Letters
  • New York
  • U.N.
  • News
  • People
  • Arts
  • Lifestyles
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
  • Italian Edition
No Result
View All Result
VNY La Voce di New York
No Result
View All Result
in
New York
June 17, 2019
in
New York
June 17, 2019
0

Sisters in Liberty: the Florentine ‘Lady of Freedom’ Will Come to Visit Her NY Twin

The Santa Croce Opera in Florence convinced the Ellis Island Museum to make the two twin statues "meet" by organizing an exhibition in October.

Stefano AlbertinibyStefano Albertini
Sisters in Liberty: la signora fiorentina della Libertà verrà a trovare la gemella a NY
Time: 3 mins read

When officials of the S. Croce Opera in Florence contacted their colleagues at the Ellis Island Museum for the first time to propose the ‘Sisters in Liberty’ exhibition, which will be inaugurated in October, they did not get the enthusiastic response they expected. Later, they learned that every year dozens of institutions propose questionable twinnings between the Statue of Liberty and more or less similar sculptures in many parts of the world.

The story changed once the curators of the American museum were able to analyze the rich documentation and, above all, the photographs sent from Florence. The statue in question, completed in 1883 by the sculptor Pio Fedi, is part of the funeral monument to Giovan Battista Niccolini, a now almost unknown poet of the Risorgimento period. It represents the Freedom of Poetry and it’s located on the façade of the basilica of Santa Croce. As we know, however, the competition at S. Croce is fierce: among the sepulchers there are those of Galileo, Foscolo, Michelangelo and Machiavelli, in addition to the works of Cimabue, Giotto, Brunelleschi and Donatello; and so, the poor Niccolini and Fedi have been a little bit forgotten.

The occasion to bring the statue of Fedi back into the limelight became the celebration of the two hundredth anniversary of diplomatic relations between Florence, the then capital of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany, and the United States. And so, after a patient work of cleaning funded by the Friends of Florence and just completed recently, Fedi’s Liberty is ready to return to the limelight and to symbolically complete the long intercontinental journey of reunion with her sister, greater in size but not in age, that has stood out in the bay of New York since 1886. The journey will be “symbolic” because the monumental complex is anchored to the floor of S. Croce and cannot travel. An exact resin copy, which has been made by Kent State University using the most sophisticated 3D scanning techniques developed so far for medical diagnostic purposes, will come to New York.

The similarities between the two statues are quite extraordinary, as is the common allegorical message. Both are formally inspired by classical Greek-Roman models. Liberty is a young woman, but she is already strong and matronly in shape, she is togated and proudly wears a radial crown, and in her hands she displays allegorical symbols: Lady Liberty, with the torch of reason and the Declaration of Independence, and Madame Liberty, with a broken chain (which is also found at the feet of the American colossus) and a laurel wreath.

It is not a certainty, but it seems very probable that Frédéric Bartholdi, the designer of the Statue of Liberty, a fervent republican, Mason and unconditional admirer of Garibaldi, drew inspiration from the sculpture of Fedi during his travels in Italy. The Ellis Island exhibition, curated by David G. Wilkins, Ann Thomas Wilkins, Giuseppe De Micheli and Paola Vojnovic, may not give a definite answer, but it will certainly contribute to the understanding of this three-way dialogue (Italy-France-United States) on the concept of freedom and its flexible representation in the 1800s. A dialogue representing the Enlightenment, democratic and republican ideals, which Fedi, Bartholdi and the forgotten Niccolini shared.

According to some hagiographies, in 1889, at the end of their first transoceanic journey, Mother Cabrini and her sisters, entering the port of New York and seeing Lady Liberty in all her majesty, with her torch lit up, fell to their knees and chanted the hymn ‘Ave Maris Stella’. For them, that illuminist and Masonic symbol of reason that lights the path to freedom was an image of the Madonna that would accompany their mission among Italian emigrants. I am sure that neither Lady Liberty nor the Virgin Mary, both very open-minded women, were offended by the misunderstanding.

Translated by Yulia Lapina

Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
Stefano Albertini

Stefano Albertini

Sono nato a Bozzolo, in provincia di Mantova. Mi sono laureato in lettere a Parma per poi passare dall'altra parte dell'oceano dove ho conseguito un Master all'Università della Virginia e un Ph.D. a Stanford. Dal 1994 insegno alla New York University e dal 1998 dirigo la Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò dello stesso ateneo. Alla Casa io e la mia squadra organizziamo un centinaio di eventi all'anno tra mostre, conferenze, concerti e spettacoli teatrali. La mia passione (di famiglia) rimane però l'insegnamento: ho creato un corso sulla rappresentazione cinematografica della storia italiana e uno, molto seguito, su Machiavelli. D'estate dirigo il programma di NYU a Firenze, ma continuo ad avere un rapporto stretto e viscerale col mio paese di origine e l'anno scorso ho fondato l'Accademia del dialetto bozzolese proprio per contribuire a conservarne e trasmettere la cultura. I was born in Bozzolo (litterally 'cocoon') in the Northern Italian province of Mantova. I obtained my degree from the University of Parma, after which I moved to the other side of the ocean and obtained my Master’s from the University of Virginia and my Ph.D from Stanford. I have been teaching at New York University (NYU) since 1994, and I have been running the Casa Italiana Zerilli Marimò of NYU, since 1998. At the Casa, we organize more than one hundred events annually, including exhibitions, conferences, concerts and theatrical performances. My personal passion, however, continues to be teaching: I created a course on the cinematographic portrayal of Italian history, and one on Machiavelli in its historical context. I also run the NYU program in Florence every summer. I continue to have a close and visceral relationship with my town of origin, and 2 years ago, I founded the Academy of the Bozzolese Dialect to conserve and promote the local culture.

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

Quella volta che sudai tanto intervistando Franco Battiato alla New York University

Quella volta che sudai tanto intervistando Franco Battiato alla New York University

byStefano Albertini
Econ-comiche: Trump, Biden e il passaggio della torcia alla Casa Bianca

Discorso agli italiani sul crimine di Trump nel tempio sacro della democrazia USA

byStefano Albertini

A PROPOSITO DI...

Tags: Ellis Island MuseumFlorenceLady LibertyPio Fedi
Previous Post

Salvini agli USA: Italia sarà “primo, solido, valido, credibile e coerente interlocutore”

Next Post

La “luna di miele” di Salvini a Washington: “Con Pence d’accordo al 99%”

Discussion about this post

DELLO STESSO AUTORE

L’arte musicale che annulla spazio e tempo per unire contro la discriminazione razziale

The Musical Art that Erases Time and Space to Unite Against Racism

byStefano Albertini
L’arte musicale che annulla spazio e tempo per unire contro la discriminazione razziale

L’arte musicale che annulla spazio e tempo per unire contro la discriminazione razziale

byStefano Albertini

Latest News

Alla ricerca delle origini del Covid-19: ecco cosa dice la scienza

Alla ricerca delle origini del Covid-19: ecco cosa dice la scienza

byAntonio Giordano
Kiev, oggi 50 bombardamenti: 16 morti a Donetsk e Mykolaiv

Kiev, oggi 50 bombardamenti: 16 morti a Donetsk e Mykolaiv

byAnsa

New York

Chazz Palminteri torna in teatro a New York: “Sono sempre quel ragazzo del Bronx”

Chazz Palminteri torna in teatro a New York: “Sono sempre quel ragazzo del Bronx”

byDonatella Mulvoniand1 others
È arrivato a New York il primo bus di migranti mandati dal Texas

È arrivato a New York il primo bus di migranti mandati dal Texas

byAlessandro D'Ercole

Italiany

Torna in Sardegna il festival “MusaMadre”: richiamo della cultura e delle radici

Torna in Sardegna il festival “MusaMadre”: richiamo della cultura e delle radici

byManuela Caracciolo
“Senato&Cultura”: premiati gli imprenditori che rendono grande l’Italia nel mondo

“Senato&Cultura”: premiati gli imprenditori che rendono grande l’Italia nel mondo

byNicola Corradi
Next Post
La “luna di miele” di Salvini a Washington: “Con Pence d’accordo al 99%”

La "luna di miele" di Salvini a Washington: "Con Pence d'accordo al 99%"

La Voce di New York

President: Giampaolo Pioli   |   Editor in Chief: Stefano Vaccara   |   English Editor: Grace Russo Bullaro

  • New York
    • Eventi
  • Onu
  • News
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Voto Estero
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • People
    • Expat
  • Arts
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
    • Lingua Italiana
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • Mediterraneo
  • English
  • Search/Archive
  • About us
    • Editorial Staff
    • President
    • Administration
    • Advertising

VNY Media La Voce di New York © 2016 - 2022
Main Office: 230 Park Avenue, 21floor, New York, NY 10169 | Editorial Office/Redazione: UN Secretariat Building, International Press Corps S-301, New York, NY 10017

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • New York
  • Onu
  • News
    • Primo Piano
    • Politica
    • Economia
    • First Amendment
  • Arts
    • Arte e Design
    • Spettacolo
    • Musica
    • Libri
  • Lingua Italiana
  • Lifestyles
    • Fashion
    • Scienza e Salute
    • Sport
    • Religioni
  • Food & Wine
    • Cucina Italiana
  • Travel
    • Italia
  • English

© 2016/2022 VNY Media La Voce di New York

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In