N.C. State Capitol Events Celebrate 100th Birthday of George Washington Sculptor

Feb. 18, 2013 - PRLog -- RALEIGH, N.C. – The North Carolina State Capitol is celebrating the February birthdays of George Washington and an Italian sculptor who paid tribute to America’s first president.

On Feb. 22 and 23, the Capitol will open an exhibit and hold two public events to mark the 100th birthday of Romano Vio, the artist who recreated the Washington statue that now sits in the Capitol Rotunda.

The original statue of Washington was created in 1820 by another Italian, Antonio Canova, but was destroyed when the State House burned in June 1831. Vio’s version was placed at the Capitol, a National Historic Landmark and a State Historic Site, in 1970.

Mayor Nancy McFarland has declared Feb. 22 as “Romano Vio Day” in Raleigh, urging citizens to celebrate the birthday of the man who recreated one of the capital city’s earliest and most recognized pieces of public art.

At 9 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 22, the Capitol will unveil its latest exhibit, “Via Vio: The Rebirth of Canova’s Washington,” and co-host a ceremony marking Vio’s centennial with the Palazzo Ferro-Fini, the seat of the Veneto Regional Council in the artist’s native Italy. The simultaneous celebrations will interact online via Skype, followed by refreshments in the Rotunda. The ceremony is open to the public.

On Saturday, Feb. 23, the Capitol staff will lead a children’s program, “Sculpture Alive!” from noon until 1:30 p.m. Kids (ages 4 and up) will learn a little about the Washington statue, sculpt a miniature version to take home and dress up like the statue for a fun photo. And since no birthday party is complete without cake, participants can sing “happy birthday” to Vio and Washington before enjoying birthday cake. The program fee is $5, and registration is required. To register, call or e-mail Capitol Education Coordinator Terra Schramm, 919-715-3962 or terra.schramm@ncdcr.gov.

Information on these Capitol celebrations and other events at State Historic Sites is available at the N.C. Culture website at .

The State Capitol’s mission is to preserve and interpret the history, architecture and functions of the 1840 building and Union Square. The Capitol is bounded by Edenton, Salisbury, Morgan and Wilmington streets. For more information, visit www.nchistoricsites.org/capitol or call (919) 733-4994.

It is managed by the division of State Historic Sites, part of the N.C. Department of Cultural Resources.

The N.C. Department of Cultural Resources annually serves more than 19 million people through its 27 historic sites, seven history museums, two art museums, the nation’s first state-supported  Symphony Orchestra, the State Library, the N.C. Arts Council, and the State Archives.  It serves as a champion for North Carolina’s creative industry, which employs nearly 300,000 North Carolinians and contributes more than $41 billion to the state’s economy. To learn more, visit www.ncdcr.gov.