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Monumento all'Indiano, Florence
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] DescriptionThis is an unusual monument attached to an unusual event. In 1870, returning from London after paying his respects to Queen Victoria, the 20-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
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