3D

Monument to Rudolph Valentino

Year of construction 1961

AddressVia Roma

Coordinates40.6286958,16.937790500000006

Monument

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Monument to Rudolph Valentino
Via Roma

Rodolfo Pier Filiberto Raffaello Guglielmi, professionally known as Rudolph Valentino, was born in Castellaneta on the 6th May 1895. His mother, Marie Berthe Gabrielle Barbin was a French gentlewoman, while his father, Giovanni Guglielmi di Valentina d’Antonguella, was a veterinarian.
After a failed attempt at enrolling in the Naval Academy in Venice, he earned a certificate in agricultural school and departed in 1913 for the United States.
Before reaching the fame, Valentino worked hard first as a waiter and dancer and then as an extra in various movies or as antagonist, thanks to the actor Norman Kerry, who convinced him to try a career in cinema. With “The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse” released in 1921 and directed by Rex Ingram, he became a star. “The Sheik” by George Melford, that same year, defined not only his career but also his image and legacy. “The Son of the Sheik” was Valentino’s final film and it was released nearly two weeks after his death from peritonitis at the age of 31, the 23rd August 1926. According to the reports, his untimely end caused mass hysteria and suicides among his female fans and further propelled him to iconic status.  An estimated 100.000 people lined the streets of Manhattan to pay their respects at his funeral, handled by the Frank Campbell Funeral Home.

For more information about our illustrious fellow citizen, we would like to invite you to the website of the Valentino Foundation.

Luigi Gheno made Valentino’s monument under the guidance of the architect Nicola Cantore and at the request of the local administration. It was inaugurated on the 30th September 1961 and recently renovated.