Revision as of 02:52, 28 March 2024 by 2600:8805:6119:9700:41b:252e:3086:58dc(talk)(removed an unrelated citation. That citation gave the birth and death date of some dude named Pietro Magni, not Giovanni Straza)
The statue was transported to Newfoundland in 1856, as recorded on December 4 in the diary of Bishop John Thomas Mullock: "Received safely from Rome, a beautiful statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary in marble, by Strazza. The face is veiled, and the figure and features are all seen. It is a perfect gem of art". It was then kept at the Bishop's Palace next to the Catholic CathedralinSt. John's until 1862, when Bishop Mullock presented it to Mother Mary Magdalene O'Shaughnessy, the Superior of the Presentation Convent. The bust has since remained under the care of Presentation Sisters, in Cathedral Square, St. John's.[1]
In the context of the Risorgimento, the Veiled Virgin was intended to symbolize Italy.
Marble busts of veiled women were a popular theme among Strazza's contemporaries, the most important of whom were Pietro Rossi and Raffaelle Monti.