Monumento all'Indiano, Florence
The Monumento all'Indiano or Monument to the Indian, more specifically Monument to the Maratha Maharajah of Kohlapur, Rajaram Chuttraputti consisting of a small dome, or baldacchino, over the bust of the Indian prince, located at the east end of the Parco delle Cascine, of Florence, region of Tuscany, Italy.[1]
This is a peculiar monument attached to an unusual event. In 1870, returning from London after paying his respects to Queen Victoria, the 21 year old Maharajah, Rajaram I 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. 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
- ↑ http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/europe/room-service-the-st-regis-florence-9002867.html
- ↑ 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).
Coordinates: 43°47′25.59″N 11°11′52.18″E / 43.7904417°N 11.1978278°E