| Dante Park | |
|---|---|
 Statue of author and poet Dante Alighieri in Dante Park opposite the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts | |
 | |
| Location | Upper West Side, Manhattan, New York City |
| Coordinates | 40°46′19″N 73°58′57″W / 40.77194°N 73.98250°W |
| Area | 0.14 acres (0.057 ha) |
| Created | 1921 |
| Operated by | New York City Department of Parks and Recreation |
Dante Park is a public park in Manhattan, New York City, located in the Upper West Side neighborhood in front of Lincoln Center near Central Park.[1]
Dante Park was established in 1921 by Italian-Americans in honor of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri (1265–1321) on a triangular plot of land opposite Lincoln Center, bounded by Broadway, Columbus Avenue, and West 63rd Street. Carlo Barsotti, the editor of the Italian-American newspaper Il Progresso Italo-Americano, originally wanted to erect a much more substantial statue of Dante to be placed in Times Square around 1912, but because of fundraising difficulties opted for a smaller statue completed by Ettore Ximenes to be erected at Broadway and West 63rd Street in 1921, the 600th anniversary of Dante's death.[2][1] Dante Park underwent renovations in the early 1990s funded by the neighboring Radisson Empire Hotel, with the sculpture also repaired.[1]
A Dante Alighieri statue of the same casting as Dante Park is featured at Meridian Hill Park in Washington, D.C.[2]
- ^ a b c "Dante Park". New York City Department of Parks & Recreation. Retrieved August 5, 2016.
- ^ a b Thomas Dossena, Tiziano (2011). "That statue of Dante in the heart of Manhattan". Bridge Puglia USA. Retrieved August 8, 2016.