On October 12, 2024, the Columbus Monument in downtown Syracuse turns 90 years old. Most readers are familiar with the protracted legal battle over Mayor Ben Walsh’s decision to remove it amidst a national reckoning with public monuments in 2020. What less people are aware of is the historical context in which it was built.

The story begins in 1910, when Syracuse University Professor Torquato DeFelice visited Florence, Italy. Prior to his trip, DeFelice and Dr. Serafino Chiarulli, both prominent members of the Italian community, discussed the possibility of raising a monument to the Genoan mariner in Syracuse, which was home to approximately 7,000 Italians at the time.