Message From the 2nd Vice President

Brothers and Sisters,

In 2015, a member of the Roseville Lodge #1413 told me the story about the statue of Christopher Columbus that in 1976 they presented to The City of Roseville to celebrate their Lodge’s 50^th Anniversary.

The City of Roseville accepted the statue graciously and proudly displayed it outside the Post Office in downtown Roseville. Sometime in 2020, thoughtless protesters decided to deface the statue by taking a hammer to its face thus breaking off the nose and a portion of the face. The city decided to take down the six-foot statue of Christopher Columbus and stash it away at their Carnegie Museum where it was forgotten.

The statue was carved from marble by Bruno Tavarilli of Massa-Carrara Marmorie, Massa-Carrara, Italy.

Massa-Carrara is a providence in the Tuscany region of Italy which is known for its marble. About seven months ago, I started thinking about the statue. I contacted the City of Roseville inquiring about “Christopher” but to no avail! Then about a week later, a city groundskeeper remembered that when they removed it from in front of the post office, they put it in a crate and brought it to the basement of the Museum. They gave me a number to call. After several unanswered calls, I received an inquiry by phone asking why I was interested in the statue. I explained that I was the Vice President of Northern California for The Sons and Daughters of Italy, and we would be interested in having the statue returned to us. After a few weeks had passed, I called the Museum back to find out about my request. They said they were overly cautious because some of the “Hate Groups” out there might want to further destroy the statue. I explained that The Sons of Italy originally presented it to the city, and we would like to take Christopher home.

At our Grand Council Meeting in September, I will be proposing that we reclaim our Christopher Columbus Statue so we can relocate it at our new Grand Lodge. At this time, we have a couple of statue repair-persons that will give us a bid on what it will cost to repair the face. Hopefully, the council will see how important this statue is and the history that it represents. If not, I would be proud to display it in my backyard. I’ll report back on this next month and give an update.

God Bless and Ciao for Now,

Louie Lodi