It is understandable that Christopher Columbus monuments would be erected in locations that have a direct relationship with him. In Italy, the country of his birth, there are 45 Columbus monuments and plaques, mostly in the Genoa area. In Spain, the flag under which he sailed to the New World, there are 67.

There are 39 in the West Indies, where Columbus set foot in the New World. But there are 95 monuments, 21 plaques, 3 markers and 40 other commemorations to Columbus in the United States, a location with no geographical relationship to him. Between 1492 and 1504, Columbus made four voyages to the New World, landing in the Bahamas, the Dominican Republic and Venezuela.