Children in Centretown will have a new place to cool off during hot summer days with a splash pad in what will be the new Piazza Dante park set for completion next month.
The centennial fountain that was a concrete park at Gladstone Avenue and Booth Street will be replaced by a splash-pad at what will be known as the Piazza Dante park next month.
“The centennial fountain was built in 1967 to celebrate Canada’s 100th birthday,” according to Wray King, who lives in the area.
Dante Alighieri is known as the founder of the Italian language which is why this park is named after him. He amalgamated all Italian dialects to form a single language
“The Dante Academy was created in 1925 across the street from the St. Anthony’s Church,” says Filoso. The name of the school changed when the school switched school boards. The statue of Dante’s head used to sit outside of Dante Academy but will now find a new home at the Piazza Dante.
Piazza Dante is being built to honor five Italian-Canadian families who were interned during the Second World War in Petawawa, just west of Ottawa. The names of these men are Giuseppe Constantini, Gino Tiezzi, Carlo Scarabelli, Fred Pantalone and Dr. Vittorio Sabetta.
Piazza Dante will include granite columns, four activity tables, numerous benches, a memorial wall for the five men interned and from a bird’s eye-view the splash-pad will be shaped like the Star of David. Trees will also border the Piazza Dante.
Angelo Filoso and Peter Scott have championed the creation of Piazza Dante. They are both active members in Ottawa's Italian community.
“Some served two years and others served five years” says Filoso, speaking of those Italian-Canadians who were interned. “The building of Piazza Dante stems from a human rights issue because those who were interned had no rights” says Filoso.
“There’s a paradox because some Italian-Canadians (served as soldiers with) Canada during this war as they fought for Canada” says Filoso.
King, who is active within the Italian community says “this park revamp is fantastic.”
This park is located within the Rochester Heights public housing units.
This park commemorates those affected because of the internment of Italian-Canadian and serves the whole community of Little Italy.
Right across from where Piazza Dante will be situated is St. Anthony’s Church. “This church was instrumental in bringing Italian immigrants into Ottawa during the 1950s,” says King.
The overhaul of this park was made possible through support from the City of Ottawa, the federal government and the Italian Canadian Community Centre.
The $520,000 bill for the upgrades is being footed by the City of Ottawa, the federal government and the Italian Canadian Community Centre and donators.
Somerset Coun. Diane Holmes and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, also an Ottawa MP, were instrumental in gaining financial support for the Piazza Dante.
The Piazza Dante park is scheduled to officially open on Oct. 23, 2011 right after St. Anthony’s Church 10 a.m. mass.
It will be followed by a reception in the basement of the church.