The restoration of the near century-old monument of Italian poet Dante Alighieri has been unveiled by the Consulate of Italy in Detroit and the Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan. The monument sits on Detroit’s Belle Isle near Shed 12. 

Consul Allegra Baistrocchi; Dante Alighieri Society of Michigan President Lia Adelfi and members of the Society; and representatives of Belle Isle’s DNR Parks and Recreation Division and the mayor’s office attended the unveiling, which celebrated Alighieri’s legacy and Detroit’s vibrant Italian American community. 

Alighieri was an Italian poet born in 1265 and is known as the father of the Italian language. The monument was first erected on Belle Isle in 1927. 

One Detroit’s Will Glover visited the unveiling ceremony to learn more about Alighieri’s legacy and how the monument’s restoration impacts the local Italian American community.