Standing at a plaza near Manhattan’s Bryant Park is a pair of 13-foot-tall statues by architect and designer Antonio Pio Saracino.
Entitled The Guardians: Hero and Superhero, the towering figures symbolise civic heroes past, present and future. Hero is marble, a tribute, says Saracina, to Michelangelo’s David; Superhero is polished stainless steel. The Guardians are also emblematic of the historical relations between Italy and the United States.
Positioned in November the sculptures were created to mark the Year of Italian Culture in the United States. Hero is a gift from Italy to the United States, donated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Embassy of Italy in Washington, DC, and the Consulate General of Italy in New York, with the support of energy provider Eni. Superhero was commissioned by commercial real estate firm Equity Office.
The permanent addition of the sculptures to the New York cityscape was celebrated with an opening reception on December 10, 2013, in the presence of representatives from the Italian Embassy in Washington and the Consulate General of Italy in New York.
