Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko, together with Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella, opened a monument to Taras Shevchenko in the center of the Italian city.
According to the press service of Klitschko, the Ukrainian capital donated the bronze sculpture to the Mayor’s Office of Florence.
“Today, on the birthday of the great Kobzar, a symbolic event took place: in Florence (the sister city of Kyiv), we unveiled a monument to the outstanding Ukrainian poet Taras Shevchenko. I am grateful to our Italian friends and personally to Mayor of Florence Dario Nardella for finally bringing this project to life, on which we have been working together for several years. And now Italians and tourists from all over the world, who after the pandemic will continue to visit Florence, will see here a part of Ukrainian history and culture,” Klitschko said during the opening ceremony of the monument.
The monument was erected in the center of the city, not far from the world-famous Florentine Cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore. The author of the monument, made at the expense of Ukrainian patrons of art, is the Ukrainian sculptor Oleh Pinchuk.
In turn, the mayor of the Italian city noted that today Kyiv and Florence have become even closer in their cooperation and twinning.
“Today, when we must together confront a pandemic, culture helps us feel our identity, strengthens spirituality and our brotherhood. Therefore, we are here today, at this event, for the common good,” Nardella said during the ceremony.
