A few posts ago I speculated on whether Giuseppe Garibaldi may be the most celebrated secular man ever to be recreated in statue form across the World and I thought then, before declaring him the outright winner, that it may be appropriate to take a look at the other contenders.
Some have gone already as they have been airbrushed out of history because surely the public likenesses of Lenin, Stalin, Franco, Tito and Napoleon Bonaparte would have challenged for this accolade and some will have their likenesses in bronze and stone but perhaps in a more limited way and I include here Nelson Mandela, Kemal Ataturk and Don Quixote.
So, where does that lead me? There is no definite list as I can see but here are my suggestions for the top 5:
- My favourite – Garibaldi (of course)
- The first American President – George Washington.
- Another American President – Abraham Lincoln
- The hero of Indian independence – Mahatma Ghandi
- Britain’s greatest ever hero – Winston Churchill
These are just my thoughts and I would be pleased to receive any alternative suggestions in your comments.
Have Bag, Will Travel 
I’ve still seen more statues of Lenin than of anybody else, though not all of them so proudly displayed as Garibaldi is.
http://richardtullochwriter.com/2010/06/12/cesis-latvia-where-lenin-is-lying-in-crate/
LikeLike
I remember that post Richard. I had it in mind when I included him in my list of people who used to have a lot of statues! What do you think?
LikeLike
Your post reminds me of a visit to Lithuania once, for a wedding. The father of the bride was a sculptor. He had done well making communist statues, and then when they were torn down he did well again making their replacements. SD
LikeLike
I think they call that a free market economy?
LikeLike
I only know about statues of Roman emperors, Augustus had quite a few chucked up around the place. We have Nelson here in Gib, surprise surprise, and some other military whizzes whose names I forget. You mentioned Napoleon, I would have thought there might be a few of Wellington kicking around. Anyway, post Roman empire, statues are somewhat of a blur to me.
LikeLike
There seem to be surprisingly few memorials to Nelson, my research says that as well as Gibraltar there are statues in Glasgow and Edinburgh (probably due to be taken down post independence) and Barbados.
Not sure about Wellington – will have to check it out. I am thinking now that there will be a lot of that South Korean President?
LikeLike
Isn’t there one of Nelson in some square in London too?
LikeLike
So obvious that I forgot about it. HaHa!
LikeLike
Pingback: Turkey, The Inevitability of Kemal Atatürk | Have Bag, Will Travel
Pingback: Naples, The Inevitability of Giuseppe Garibaldi | Have Bag, Will Travel
Pingback: Sicily – Garibaldi in Syracuse | Have Bag, Will Travel
Love the post Andrew. I will send you an Australian Garibaldi link after I’ve had a cup of coffee and gone for a bit of a drive in the country.
LikeLike