WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 5: Strange Things Happen in Philadelphia...

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SEE ALSO:

WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 1: It begins with a statue in Philadelphia in 1876

WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 2: The New Orleans Massacre (1891) and Italian-American Identity

WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 3: Italian Columbus Day vs. American Columbus Day

WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 4: Christopher Columbus Against the World

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(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 President Biden's grim "wrongs and atrocities" proclamation.

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Not just a local story, the Daily Mail—a UK tabloid—devoted a long article to this intriguing development:

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‍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.

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"Court Rules Box Around Columbus Statue Must Be Removed"

By then, everyone in town knew more or less what to expect: a slow drizzle of court findings hedged by feckless obstructionism in City Hall.

Then— sixteen months later on December 9, 2022 —the Friends of Marconi Plaza scored a big win.

On that day, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court (an intermediate appellate body in Harrisburg) took a deep breath and blew away the plywood box.

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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.

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Bochetto: "I've invested the last four years of my life saving this statue and battling the woke Democrat administration in Philadelphia from tearing it down. Ultimately, we were successful in the courts..."

Two years earlier, Bochetto ran against McCormick in the Pennsylvania Republican Primary for a national senate seat. McCormick came in second with 31.1%of the vote and Bochetto seventh with 1.1%.

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The Pro-Navigator forces had wind in their sails, but this was still an evolving situation. Let's fast-forward through the next  months and see what happens on the ground.

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At South Philly's Columbus Monument, we see a relatively modest display of not-quite-seasonal decorations, including an all-purpose patriotic wreath.

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As of now, the Great Navigator is still there —under the watchful eye of an entire neighborhood.

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And the watchful eye of someone else— back in the White House.

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Donald Trump: "I'm bringing back Columbus Day from the ashes..."

What does that actually mean?

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It took nearly a year for Trump to drop a Columbus statue into his own front yard— at the Old Executive Office Building which adjoins the White House.

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"Dedicated... Destroyed... Resurrected... Gifted... Rededicated"

Two Presidents, a Mayor and an Italian-American umbrella organization are cited —but not Mauro Bigarani, who sculpted the original in 1984 nor Will Hemsley who replicated it in 2020.

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This restored marble sculpture (with resin infill) didn't come back from the ashes —but near enough. It reprises one that was broken into pieces and tossed into Baltimore Harbor by protestors on July Fourth 2020, at the height of the Black Lives Matter upheaval.

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Donald J. Trump's Army of Liberation shows off its hardware at the Columbus Monument in front of Union Station.

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When it came to the Great Navigator, mayors and presidents were playing fast and loose with their executive powers.

Meanwhile, as a resident of Washington DC, I had a front-row seat for too much of the madness.

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"PA. Court Overturns Philly Executive Order To Replace Columbus Day With Indigenous Peoples' Day"

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Now, back to the Philadelphia Story...

On December 9, 2022, the Pennsylvania Commonwealth Court ordered the unboxing of the Columbus statue in Marconi Plaza—focusing on jurisdiction and due process.

On August 6, 2025— in the same vein —they found that former Mayor Jim Kenney had exceeded his authority in shutting down Columbus Day without consulting the City Council.

Then the Court added a quiet suggestion of compromise... While reinstating Philadelphia's customary Columbus observance on 13 October, 2025, why not institute an Indigenous People's celebration —on some other day?

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“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.

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Meanwhile, The Italian Sons and Daughters of America (formerly The Sons of Italy in America) voiced a conciliatory message, picking up on the "some other day" option —a moderate solution with which George Bochetto concurred.

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Indigenous Peoples' Day Philly 2025 was already in the works but in a relatively modest form.

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Scheduled for the accustomed date of Federal Columbus Day (the second Monday in October), this "pan-indigenous celebration" was shaping up as a generic arts event —without a clear public message or political focus.

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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 actually happened at all.

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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 Leni 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.

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With due respect to South Philly Pride, this is the Bartholdy statue recently removed from Columbus Square in Providence RI, not the local Caroni work in Marconi Plaza in Philadelphia PA.

Checking in on Columbus Day in Philadelphia...

So, Christopher is back? And his holiday too?

Yes? No? Maybe?

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On both Sunday October 12, 2025 (Historic Columbus Day) and October 13 (Second Monday by Federal calculation), I was in Italy where few have heard of either option. So, I had to follow the activity in Marconi Plaza at second hand, mostly on my cell phone.

But was there ...in fact ...any activity in South Philly?

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FILITALIA INTERNATIONAL, a South Philly-based organization, had teased a celebration— optimistically, it seemed —for October 12, the Second Sunday of the month.

Even on the other side of the Ocean Blue, I could see that Columbus Day in New York (scheduled for Monday the 13th) was a total wash-out— shut down by heavy weather (of the meteorological kind). Philadelphia, too a day earlier, as I later learned.

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 National Columbus Day 2026 in Marconi Plaza? (October 12 is in fact the Second Monday.) This is a developing story, so check back here!

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As soon as I returned from Italy, I stopped by Marconi Plaza to pay my respects —and see what there was to see, which was basically nothing.

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"Statue of former Philadelphia Mayor Frank Rizzo to be returned to donor group under new agreement."

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Meanwhile, on a parallel track, 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 of high-powered lawyering.

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"Meet the Man Who Beat SEPTA (Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority) and Saved the Columbus and RIzzo Statues"

"Headline-making Attorney George Bochetto prepares for new battles."

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George Bochetto in his imposing Center City Philadelphia law office surrounded by boxing memorabilia. He served as Pennsylvania Boxing Commissioner from 1995 to 2002.

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"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 right-wing world-view which elicits loud but limited support in the generally liberal City of Brotherly Love.

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"Republican George Bochetto would bring 'America First' mentality to U.S. Senate"

Columbus and Rizzo are not the only things that this culture warrior wants to save.

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"Bochetto...said he's running to prevent the country from becoming overrun by the liberal 'woke mob.' He has run on a platform of public safety, fiscal responsibility and protections for personal freedoms."

With those values in mind, Bochetto made a brief and largely unnoticed run for mayor of Philadelphia in 1998.

In 2022, he launched a million-dollar self-funded Senate race, barely figuring in the Republican Primary.

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Bochetto has proven far more effective working behind the scenes and in the legal sphere.

Mobs— left or right— 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 executve order of June 2, 2020).

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"Philadelphia Art Commission agrees to return Rizzo statue to committee that originally gave it to the city to be restored, relocated."

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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 ...and then what?

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"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."

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The Art Commission was kicking the issue as far down the road as possible, hoping to keep Hizzoner out of sight and out of mind.

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But meanwhile, the Monument Committee, led by George Bochetto, had ideas of its own— which did not include a low profile.

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"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.

Rizzo Statue? Commanding New Location?

But then a few months later, events took an ironic turn...

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"Frank Rizzo Supporters Can't Find Someone Willing to Fix the Statue. So says the prominent attorney [George Bochetto] repesenting the group that now owns the controversial bronze, which was damaged when the city hastily removed it."

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Let's begin at the beginning of the Rizzo story— or at least, its most recent chapter.

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SEE ALSO:

WHOSE COLUMBUS? WHOSE COLUMBUS DAY? Part 4: Christopher Columbus Against the World

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"It’s been more than five years since Jim Kenney ordered workers to rip down the Frank Rizzo Statue from its longtime home outside the Municipal Services Building… sparking a legal battle between the city and Rizzo advocates represented by prominent attorney George Bochetto…”

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“The supporters won that battle, and the city transferred ownership to them in August...and then the supporters would find a new home for the 10-foot-tall bronze…There’s just one problem: finding a foundry in the area to fix the statue has turned out to be no easy task.”

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"There's just one problem..."

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“’They don’t want to touch it,’ says Bochetto. ‘We went to one foundry and they said they wouldn’t go near it. Second one, same story. And then a third. The artistic community has put out the word out there that no foundry should repair it.”

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Bochetto: "They don't want to touch it..."

Bochetto: "The artistic community has put out the word..."

Attorney Bochetto might seem to be buying into a "Woke Mob" conspiracy theory. But meanwhile, the sculptor Xenos Frudakis —who describes himself as politically "to the left of Bernie Sanders" —echoed his sentiments.

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Frudakis: "'It's easily the most controversial statue I've ever made,' he observes. 'And these days, people are crazy. Someone finds out that a foundry is working on it, are they going to vandalize it, burn it down? We live in an age where someone will show up with a gun at a pizza shop because they read on the internet that children are being held captive there.'"

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"Everyone is crazy" is a sadly apt response to more and more situations today.

And in Washington DC, I live barely three blocks from COMET PIZZA of “Pizzagate” fame. So, violent political delusion lacks the charm of novelty.

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The sculptor projects a zen-like calm when it comes to rehabiltating a monument he fashioned with his own hands —and a profound understanding of time and change.

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"Frudakis thinks he does have the solution, though: Just don't repair it. 'The damage is part of the statue's history,' he argues. 'The Japanese have an art of repairing cracked pottery with gold to highlight the cracks and showcase the history. Not try to eliminate it.'"

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The high estheticism of Asian connoisseurship might not seem the most obvious approach to the Rizzo Monument, which many consider a "pugno in occhio" (fist in the eye), as Italians say.

In any case, the situation developed with astonishing speed:

Money was found for repairs (including $80,000 in damages from the City of Philadelphia).

Resolute foundrymen arose to meet the challenge.

By early August 2026, Hizzoner was good as new and ready for redeployment.

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But where???

The Inquirer acknowledged the complextity of the issue but stopped short:

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As part of the 2025 agreement, the statue should be displayed on private property, and in a way that makes it “not visible from the public right of way,” the agreement states.

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An exception can happen if the committee gets approval from Mayor Cherelle L. Parker  or the managing director. Bochetto said that’s something the committee is working on. Bochetto did not describe locations being considered for the statue.

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The city did not reply to a request for information. So, the status of the monument’s home remains uncertain.

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When it came to George Bochetto's preferred destination for the Rizzo Monument, this was not exactly cutting edge investigative journalism by the Inquirer.

The attorney had been nudging and winking like nobody's busness for nearly a year, beginning with his Q&A with Victor Fiorillo in Philadelphia Magazine on November 24, 2025.

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Fiorillo: “Another recent case of yours involves the Frank Rizzo statue. You sued the city over its removal, and the city is now going to return it to the committee that fundraised to create the statue in the first place. What happens next?

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Bochetto: “The city has to pay for some repairs, and then we will be making an announcement as to its placement. Our committee includes former mayor John Street, Bob Brady, and other luminaries.

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Fiorillo: “My understanding is that it cannot be in public view.”

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Bochetto: “Well, actually, we think it can be in public view. It will have a very prominent, appropriate setting.”

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Fiorillo: “Facing the Columbus Statue in South Philly’s Marconi Plaza?

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Bochetto: [Laughs extensively] Well, I didn’t say that. [More laughing]  You’re very, very close. Warmer than lukewarm.

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Marconi Plaza?

You're very, very close?

Warmer than lukewarm?

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Marconi and Columbus already nailed the prime spots in the plaza, so Hizzoner would have to find a cozy corner of his own.

But where do we see this initiative going?

After Marconi (1975) then Columbus (1976) then Rizzo (????), are there other Great Italians in the mix?

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The Rocky Statue is out of the running, it seems.

The Art Museum locked it down for all eternity —apart from the fact that Rocky Balboa is not a real person.

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So, we are looking at a cluster of three, for the time-being at least: the Great Navigator (Columbus), the Father of Wireless Communication (Marconi) and the First  Italian American Mayor of Philadelphia (Rizzo).

Or according to some: the Colonialist Genocider (Columbus), the Fascist Anti-Semite (Marconi) and the White Supremacist Thug (Rizzo).

With that in mind, it is easy to see Marconi Plaza as a Bomarzo-like confab of quaint monsters emerging from a mysterious wood.

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Columbus defenders mobilize in Marconi Plaza during the BLM protests.

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As for future inductees ...is anyone taking nominations?

We might start with the celebrated tenor Alfredo Arnold Cocozza (better known as Mario Lanza), born right there in the 'hood.

Then there is the city's greatest middleweight boxer, Joey Giardello, from South Philly too (but already memorialized at 13th and Passyunk).

But if we are looking for monsters, as far as I know, there is not a single statue of Angelo Bruno, Phil Testa, Nicky Scarfo or Joey Merlino any place in town.

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The 80 foot-tall "Luminous Liberty Bell" was erected over Broad Street to welcome visitors to the Sesquicentennial International Exposition (1776-1926).

Now, we are awaiting the arrival of the Rizzo Statue (with George Bochetto on the job, nothing would surprise me less).

But whatever its qualities, it won't be the most remarkable work to pop up in Marconi Plaza over the years.

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FOR GUGLIELMO MARCONI AND MARCONI PLAZA, SEE:

COLUMBUS, MARCONI AND BALBO: Italian Heroes Collide with American Reality

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(November 1, 2025...Day of the Dead)

Meanwhile, there is that other once and maybe future Rizzo Monument...

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It's back?!

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No face as yet, but time will tell...

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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".