John Corritone, 70, speaks at the Italian American Association of Richmond farewell ceremony for the Christopher Columbus statue statue at Mechanicsville, Va., Monday, July 15, 2024.
On a narrow back road in Mechanicsville, a small group of the region’s Italian community met to say final goodbyes to one of their most treasured possessions: the first Christopher Columbus statue of the South.
Anna Gragnani, age 101, said "God's blessing us" when raindrops fell at the conclusion of the rededication of the Christopher Columbus statue in Byrd Park Sunday, October 12, 2014. Gragnani attended the unveiling of the statue in 1927.
Portrait of Timothy Raiford, 80, at his residence where the Italian American Association of Richmond celebrated a farewell ceremony for the Christopher Columbus statue at Mechanicsville, Va., Monday, July 15, 2024.
PHOTOS: Jefferson Davis statue from Monument Avenue on display at The Valentine
The statue, pulled down on June 10, 2020, is on loan from the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
The Jefferson Davis statue erected on Monument Avenue in 1907 and pulled down in 2020 is on display at The Valentine.
EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Museum director Bill Martin stands in the studio where Edward Valentine, the first president of the museum, created the statue. (2022)
EVA RUSSO/TIMES-DISPATCH
Toppled by protesters in 2020, the statue of Confederate President Jefferson Davis that once stood on Monument Avenue in Richmond is shown at The Valentine museum in 2022, on loan from the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia.
EVA RUSSO, TIMES-DISPATCH
The Valentine is debuting a temporary exhibit of the Jefferson Davis Statue that was erected on Monument Ave. in 1907 and pulled down by protesters on June 10, 2020. The statue is on loan from the Black History Museum and Cultural Center of Virginia and will be a part of the Valentine's exhibit "This is Richmond, Virginia" for at least six months. Here, visitors are encouraged to write down how the statue makes them feel.
Anna Gragnani, age 101, said "God's blessing us" when raindrops fell at the conclusion of the rededication of the Christopher Columbus statue in Byrd Park Sunday, October 12, 2014. Gragnani attended the unveiling of the statue in 1927.
Portrait of Timothy Raiford, 80, at his residence where the Italian American Association of Richmond celebrated a farewell ceremony for the Christopher Columbus statue at Mechanicsville, Va., Monday, July 15, 2024.
