The Monumento all'Indiano or Monument to the Indian, more specifically "Monument to the Maratha Maharajah of Kolhapur, Rajaram Chhatrapati" consisting of a chhatri or small raised dome, in Italian terms a baldacchino, over the bust of the Indian prince, at the west end of the Parco delle Cascine in Florence, Tuscany, Italy.[1]
 Monumento all'Indiano | |
 | |
| 43°47′25.59″N 11°11′52.18″E / 43.7904417°N 11.1978278°E | |
| Location | Parco delle Cascine, Florence, Tuscany, Italy |
|---|---|
| Designer | Charles Francis Fuller |
| Type | Monument |
| Dedicated to | Maratha Maharajah of Kolhapur, Rajaram Chhatrapati |
Description edit
This is an unusual monument attached to an unusual event. In 1870, returning from London after paying his respects to Queen Victoria, the 21-year-old Maharajah Rajaram II died from a febrile illness in his hotel room in the "La Pace Hotel".[2] His courtiers asked to conduct a cremation, or Antyesti ceremony, at the confluence of two rivers. They were able to perform a ceremony at the confluence of the Arno and stream of the Mugnone, near this site in the park. The events and the ceremony elicited a great deal of curiosity in the public.
The act of cremation, banned in Florence, led to a fierce argument among doctors and scientists as to the merits and morals of the funeral technique.[3] The costs of the monument were financed by the British government, who employed the sculptor Charles Francis Fuller, who used an Indian form in a version of Indo-Saracenic architecture. The base has inscriptions in English, Italian, Hindi, and Punjabi.[4]
In 1972, a modern bridge was built near the site and takes the name of Ponte all'Indiano.[5]
References edit
- ^ "Room Service: The St Regis, Florence". Independent.co.uk. 14 December 2013.
- ^ Now known as the Grando Hotel in Piazza Ognissanti.
- ^ Annali universali di medicina, Volume 268, edited by Carlo Giuseppe Annibale Omodei, Carlo Ampelio Calderini, Romolo Griffini, (1884) page 206.
- ^ Atti, Acts of the Communal Council of Florence, (1874): pages 8–9.
- ^ Toscana, by Remo Carulli, Alessandro Agostinelli, Sara Fiorillo, entry on memorial (2015).