Prince Henry the Navigator (statue)

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Prince Henry the Navigator
Prince Henry the Navigator statue, Fall River-ful view.jpg
Coordinates 41°41′27″N71°7′56″W / 41.69083°N 71.13222°W / 41.69083; -71.13222
Location Pleasant Street at Eastern Avenue
Designer Aristide Berto Cianfarani
Material bronze, Fall River granite
Completion date 1940

Prince Henry the Navigator is an historic statue located on a traffic median at the intersection of Eastern Avenue and Pleasant Street in the Flint Village section of Fall River, Massachusetts.

Fall River, Massachusetts City in Massachusetts, United States

Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River is located approximately 53 miles (85 km) south of Boston, 17 miles (27 km) southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, 20 miles (32 km) south of Taunton, 12 miles (19 km) west of New Bedford, 20 miles (32 km) north of Newport, Rhode Island, and 200 miles (320 km) northeast of New York City. The City of Fall River's population was 87,103 at the 2010 census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state.

Contents

The statue by Aristide Berto Cianfarani was erected in 1940 by people from New England of Portuguese descent to mark the 800 year anniversary of the Portuguese National Organization in 1140, and as a tribute to Prince Henry the Navigator (1394–1460), whose explorations and scientific accomplishments beaconed the ocean route to India and opened the gateway of the Atlantic Ocean for the eventual exploration of the American continents. [1]

Aristide Berto Cianfarani American sculptor

Aristide Berto Cianfarani was an Italian born American sculptor noted for his monuments, war memorials and ecclesiastical works.

New England Region of the United States

New England is a region composed of six states of the northeastern United States: Maine, Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and north, respectively. The Atlantic Ocean is to the east and southeast, and Long Island Sound is to the south. Boston is New England's largest city as well as the capital of Massachusetts. The largest metropolitan area is Greater Boston with nearly a third of the entire region's population, which also includes Worcester, Massachusetts, Manchester, New Hampshire, and Providence, Rhode Island.

Portuguese people ethnic group

Portuguese people are a Romance ethnic group indigenous to Portugal that share a common Portuguese culture and speak Portuguese. Their predominant religion is Christianity, mainly Roman Catholicism, though vast segments of the population, especially the younger generations, have no religious affiliation. Historically, the Portuguese people's heritage largely includes the pre-Celts and Celts, who became culturally Romanized during the conquest of the region by the ancient Romans. A number of Portuguese also can trace limited descent from Germanic tribes who arrived after the Roman period as ruling elites, including the Suebi and Visigoths in northern Portugal, as well as converted Jewish and North Africans as a result of the Moorish occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, especially in the Algarve region of southern Portugal.

The base of the statue was constructed from remains of the former Fall River Customhouse and United States Post Office which were demolished in the early 1930s.[ citation needed ]

The statue was nominated by local and state historical commissions but denied placement on the National Register of Historic Places by the Department of the Interior in 1983. [2]

National Register of Historic Places federal list of historic sites in the United States

The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance. A property listed in the National Register, or located within a National Register Historic District, may qualify for tax incentives derived from the total value of expenses incurred preserving the property.

Statue and mosaic Prince Henry the Navigator statue, Fall River wide view.jpg
Statue and mosaic

In the 1980s the traffic island surrounding the base of the statue was redecorated with a stone mosaic pattern with waves and other nautical themed-items.[ citation needed ]

In 2002, a copy of the statue was erected in Belgrave Square, London, across from the Portuguese embassy. [3]

Belgrave Square square in London, England

Belgrave Square is one of the grandest and largest 19th-century squares in London. It is the centrepiece of Belgravia, and was laid out by the property contractor Thomas Cubitt for the 2nd Earl Grosvenor, later the 1st Marquess of Westminster, in the 1820s. Most of the houses were occupied by 1840. The square takes its name from one of the Duke of Westminster's subsidiary titles, Viscount Belgrave. The village of Belgrave, Cheshire is two miles (3 km) from the Grosvenor family's main country seat of Eaton Hall. Today, many embassies are based in the square.

Embassy of Portugal, London diplomatic mission of Portugal in the United Kingdom

The Embassy of Portugal in London is the diplomatic mission of Portugal in the United Kingdom. The embassy is located on Belgrave Square, Belgravia, in two separate buildings, and there is also a Portuguese consulate in Portland Place, Fitzrovia.

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References

  1. ↑ From plaque on base of statue
  2. ↑ Giza, Patricia (1984). A Guide Book to Fall River's National Register Properties. Fall River, MA: The City.
  3. ↑ "Statue: Henry the Navigator statue". London Remembers. London Remembers. Retrieved 27 March 2018. A duplicate of the statue is located at Fall River, Massachusetts
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