Garibaldi

Giuseppe Garibaldi by Giovanni Turini, 1888
Washington Square Park
New York, September 2007

See also: Garibaldi in Rome - Giuseppe Garibaldi - Garibaldi in Venice

“The sculptor, Giovanni Turini (1841–1899), who also designed the bronze bust of Mazzini unveiled in Central Park in 1878, was a volunteer member of Garibaldi’s Fourth Regiment during the war between Italy and Austria in 1866. Donated by New York’s Italian-American community, the bronze statue on a granite pedestal was dedicated in 1888, the sixth anniversary of Garibaldi’s death.
By the 1960s, a good-luck ritual developed among New York University Finance students in which each new student in the School of Finance tossed a penny at the base of the Garibaldi Monument at the start of the school year. Acknowledging this tradition and reinforcing its commitment to the community, the university sponsored a wreath-laying ceremony in 1961 to honor the centennial anniversary of Italy’s unification.”

(Giuseppe Garibaldi, Washington Square Park, City of New York Parks & Recreation)