WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 5: Strange Things Happen in Philadelphia...
Meanwhile in Philadelphia, the pro-Navigator forces—marshaled by Attorney George Bochetto —had been fighting an uphill battle to keep their statue in place.
On August 18, 2021, a Pennsylvania judge intervened, ordering the city to back off —two months before the president's grim "wrongs and atrocities" proclamation.
Not just a local story, the Daily Mail—a UK tabloid—devoted a long article to this intriguing development:
Judge rules 144-year-old Christopher Columbus statue in Philadelphia can remain after city voted to remove it last July 'without any legal basis'"
● Common Pleas Court Judge Paula Patrick ruled that Philadelphia’s decision to remove a statue of Christopher Columbus was ‘without any legal basis’
● The city’s arts commission, historical commission and city council decided to remove the statue following last year’s protests against police brutality
● Attorney George Bochetto, representing the friends of Marconi Plaza, said his clients were ‘ecstatic’ – they now seek to remove the box obscuring the statue
● 'While we are very disappointed with the ruling, we’re…exploring all potential options…including an appeal’ said Mayor Jim Kenney’s Office.
"Court Rules Box Around Columbus Statue Must Be Removed"
Sixteen months later—on December 9, 2022—the Friends of Marconi Plaza scored another big win. On that day, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (an intermediate appellate body) blew away the plywood box.
The Friends lost no time in returning their hero to the public gaze, after two-and-a-half years of internal exile.
"Fate of the Columbus Statue uncertain!" were the words on many lips. But meanwhile, George Bochetto was on the job.
UPDATES...fast-forward through the next few months.
At South Philly's Columbus Monument, a relatively modest display of seasonal (and other) decorations. including an all-purpose patriotic wreath.
As of now, the Great Navigator is still there —under the watchful eye of an entire neighborhood.
And the watchful eye of someone else— back in the White House.
But what does all this stuff and more stuff mean in concrete terms?
Donald J. Trump's occupation forces show off their hardware at the Columbus Monument in front of Union Station.
As a resident of Washington DC, I have had more than a few glimpses of what this can mean... with or without Christopher Columbus in the mix.
As for Columbus in Philadelphia, however, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court had some thoughts of their own —following up on their previous unboxing of the Marconi Plaza Monument on December 9, 2022.
On August 6, 2025, they found unanimously that then-Mayor Jim Kenney exceeded his authority in shutting down Columbus Day without consulting the City Council.
But they also appended a note of compromise... While reinstating Philadelphia's customary observance on 13 October, 2025 , why not institute an Indigenous People's celebration —on some other day?
“Protagonismo” is a fine old Italian word and George Bochetto was the lead attorney in the case, so he had a perfect right to jump on top of the story.
Meanwhile, The Italian Sons and Daughters of America (formerly The Sons of Italy in America) voiced a notably conciliatory message, picking up on the "some other day" option—a moderate solution with which George Bochetto concurs.
Indigenous Peoples' Day Philly 2025 was already in the works but as a seemingly scaled-down occasion.
This "pan-indigenous celebration" —scheduled for the accustomed date of Columbus Day (the second Monday in October)— is currently recognized by the city as a generic arts event, it would seem.
In conceptual terms, Treaty Park at Shackamaxon (present-day Fishtown) would seem the ideal setting for such a festival, since this is where William Penn's "Great Treaty" with the Leni Lenape people was ratified... if that happened at all.
As described by Andrew Newman, Treaty of Shackamaxon, in the Philadelphia Encyclopedia:
The Treaty of Shackamaxon, otherwise known as William Penn’s Treaty with the Indians or “Great Treaty,” is Pennsylvania’s most longstanding historical tradition… According to the tradition, soon after William Penn (1644-1718) arrived in Pennsylvaniain late October 1682, he met with Lenni Lenape Indians in the riverside town of Shackamaxon (present-day Fishtown).
There, beneath a majestic elm, they exchanged promises of perpetual friendship. The tradition may well have a historical basis in an actual treaty meeting in Shackamaxon; however… the event is not recorded in original primary source documents, and its details and very occurrence have been debated.
Curiously enough, this is the Bartholdy statue recently removed from Columbus Square in Providence, RI, not the earlier Caroni work in Marconi Plaza in South Philadelphia.
UPDATES (October 12 and October 30, 2025) So, Christopher is back? And his holiday too?
Yes? No? Maybe?
I was in Italy on Columbus Day 2025 and had to follow the activity in Marconi Plaza at second hand. FILITALIA INTERNATIONAL, a South Philly-based organization, planned an appearance— but on the web, I found no trace of the actual event.
Columbus Day in New York was canceled due to heavy weather (of the meteorological kind)— which was also the case in Philadelphia, as FILITALIA kindly informed me. "The event planner cancelled the event on October 10, 2025 due to the weather forecast. It was not re-scheduled this year."
How about Columbus Day 2026 in Marconi Plaza? This is still a developing story, so check back here!
UPDATE: August 13, 2025
What's new with Frank RIzzo?
He— or at least his bronze surrogate —lurched a giant step away from the scrapyard.
After nearly five years and a lot of high-powered lawyering...
The SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) case was another major victory for this "headline making attorney".
George Bochetto in his imposing Center City Philadelphia law office surrounded by boxing memorabilia. He served as Pennsylvania Boxing Commissioner from 1995 to 2002.
"Fierce", "determined" and "indefatigable" are adjectives that come to mind in describing George Bochetto —as litigator, sportsman, political operative and advocate for Italian-American causes. Meanwhile, he expounds a distinct ideological point of view (one that elicits loud but only limited support in the generally liberal City of Brotherly Love).
Or...to put this another way...Columbus and Rizzo are only two of the many things that George Bochetto wants to save from the "woke mob".
With that in mind, he launched an expensive self-funded Senate race. Ultimately, he came in seventh in the Republican Primary, with 1.1% of that party's vote. In 1998, he made a hastily truncated run for mayor.
Counselor Bochetto would probably not object too strenously to being described as an Anti-Woke Culture Warrior and in a few controversial legal cases he was proven right, both within the letter and the spirit of the law.
Like it or not, mobs (of any inclination) cannot do whatever they want, however righteous their indignation— especially when faced with the rigors of property law.
To wit: the hulking bronze belongs to the organization that commissioned and paid for it, specifically the Frank L. Rizzo Monument Committee.
While the Rizzo Statue might have occupied city real estate for a time, it was not the City of Philadelphia's to "donate, relocate, destroy, or otherwise dispose of" (quoting Mayor Kenney’s executive order of June 2, 2020).
Philadlephia Art Commission agrees to return Rizzo statue to committee that originally gave it to the city to be restored, relocated.
On August 13, 2025 the Philadelphia Art Commission determined that the city's only option was to deaccession the RIzzo Statue from the civic collection and return it to the Committee— after repairing the damage inflicted by municipal employees during its chaotic removal.
And that was that? Not hardly! The problematic statue was back in the committee's hands...but then what?
"The monument committee will be permitted to install the statue on private property... If the committee hopes to place the statue in a park or on other public land in the future, the proposal would be subject to review by the Art Commission."
The Art Commission's obvious goal was to kick the final solution as far down the road as possible while keeping Hizzoner out of sight and out of mind.
But meanwhile, the Monument Committee, led by George Bochetto, had ideas of its own— which did not include a low profile.
"Bochetto said earlier this week, 'We believe the new location will be every bit as commanding" as the old one in front of the Municipal Services Building.
Yet another developing story!
UPDATE: November 25, 2025
A quick recap after five momentous years:
But "there's just one problem".
"They don't want to touch it," says Bochetto.
Attorney Bochetto might seem to be veering into a "Woke Mob" conspiracy theory but he is not entirely wrong about the "artistic community", as explicated by the author of the Rizzo statue himself. (Frudakis describes himself as politically "to the left of Bernie Sanders").
In Washington DC, I live barely three blocks from COMET PIZZA of “Pizzagate” fame. So, I can bear witness to the excesses of pseudo-political delusion.
The sculptor shares an interesting take on the challenge of restoring the monument which he fashioned with his own hands.
The high estheticism of Asian connoisseurship might not seem the most obvious approach to the Rizzo Monument, which is the artistic equivalent of a fist in the eye.
Still, an excellent argument could be made for preserving the work as a historical document and contextualizing it in all its complexity.
But preserve it where— considering the Art Commission's evasive "guidelines"?
Marconi Plaza? Are we getting warm?
.webp)
Come what may, this will be interesting to watch…
(November 1, 2025...Day of the Dead)
Meanwhile, there is that other once and maybe future Rizzo Monument...
It's back?!
No face as yet, but time will tell...
Meanwhile, keeping watch, at that very moment, just a a block or two away ...a new neighbor who perhaps never even heard of "Frank Rizzo".
Related posts
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 1: It begins with a statue in Philadelphia in 1876
Why is Columbus Day the most controversial of American holidays?
People disagree —often violently —about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts. Make of them what you will!
***
The story begins in South Philly (then and now) and takes us to the American Civil War and the 1876 Centennial Exposition.
We meet Christopher Columbus (in several incarnations), sculptor Emanuele Caroni and Nunzio Finelli (ideator of Philadelphia’s Columbus Statue, long in Fairmount Park, now in Marconi Plaza).
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 2: The New Orleans Massacre (1891) and Italian-American Identity
Why is Columbus Day the most controversial of American holidays?
People disagree —often violently —about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts. Make of them what you will!
***
A deadly anti-Italian riot in New Orleans in 1891 gave rise to the Columbus Day holiday —or so many people claim.
We meet Italian Ambassador Francesco Fava and Italian Consul Pasquale Corte, plus a host of corrupt New Orleans politicians and rumor-mongering journalists across America and around the world.
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 3: Italian Columbus Day vs. American Columbus Day
Why is Columbus Day the most controversial of American holidays?
People disagree —often violently —about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts. Make of them what you will!
***
“Everyone” knows that Columbus Day began in 1892 (1492 plus 400) when President Benjamin Harrison declared that national holiday —in reparation for the recent lynching of 11 Italians in New Orleans.
“Everyone” is wrong, however. The story is far more complicated —with two plausible “origin myths”, neither openly connected to the New Orleans tragedy.
1892 gave rise to a short-lived American Nativist Columbus Day, linked to the Schoolhouse Flag Movement and the new Pledge of Allegiance.
1892 also formalized an older and more durable Italian and Catholic Columbus Day— culminating in the dedication of the Columbus Monument in New York City.
WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 4: Christopher Columbus Against the World
Why is Columbus Day the most controversial of American holidays?
People disagree —often violently —about its past and present meaning.
Here are the facts. Make of them what you will!
***
Christopher Columbus, Frank Rizzo, George Floyd, Joe Biden, Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani…
Black Lives Matter, Indigenous Peoples Day, Italian Liberation and the January 6, 2021 Assault on the Capitol…
Philadelphia's "notorious" Columbus Statue, "notorious" Rizzo Statue and "notorious" Rizzo Mural...
What do these all have in common?
“Everything and Nothing” is the easy answer.
COLUMBUS, MARCONI AND BALBO: Italian Heroes Collide with American Reality
In 1930s America, Guglielmo Marconi, the inventor of the radiotelegraph and Italo Balbo, the aeronautical "Second Columbus" led a brilliantly orchestrated public relations campaign on behalf of Benito Mussolini's regime.
Americans—especially Italian-Americans—enthusiastically embraced the emblems of Fascist ideology until the Second World War intervened.
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