MONUMENT TO GIUSEPPE VERDI IN PARMA

The Monument to Giuseppe Verdi in Parma was designed by architect Lamberto Cusani in 1913, to mark the centenary of the composer’s birth, and was inaugurated on February 22, 1920, in the square in front of Parma’s railway station.  

Originally, the imposing structure in granite and bronze, as tall as the nearby Palazzo della Pilotta, was conceived as a large triumphal arch topped by lions pulling a mythological chariot. The arch connected two semicircular porticoed wings, adorned with 28 statues created by the Palermo sculptor Ettore Ximenes, each representing one of Verdi’s operas in chronological order of composition. 

Unfortunately, during the bombings of May 13, 1944, the monument was hit: although the damage was not devastating, after the war it was decided to demolish it to make way for new buildings, sparking heated controversy. What was spared was the great central altar, represented by a large bronze relief with Verdi in meditation surrounded by the Muses who inspire him, namely Inspiration, Melody, Song, Rhythm of Dance, Love, and Death.  
The back of the altar is divided into three distinct reliefs, which depict, in succession: the approval by the Assembly of the Parmense Provinces of the annexation to the Kingdom of Italy; the triumphant welcome given to the Maestro Verdi in Turin (with the famous inscription Viva V.E.R.D.I.) as a delegate of the Assembly to deliver the resolutions into the hands of King Victor Emmanuel II. And finally the scene of Verdi and other delegates presenting those resolutions to the King.

Today its current location in Piazzale della Pace, next to the Palazzo della Pilotta.  
Of the twenty-eight original statues, only nine were recovered and transferred to the Arena del Sole Hall in Roccabianca, where they are still preserved.