The Angelita Statue stands on the Riviera Mallozzo in Anzio. It was placed there as a memorial of a sad story from World War II.
Statue of Angelita Anzio
Useful information
Address: Riviera Mallozzo, Anzio.
History and description
The statue of Angelita was inaugurated in 1979, the year of the child. It was created by the sculptor Sergio Cappellini. It stands on a marble pedestal and depicts a girl giving a flock of seagulls their freedom.
It is meant as an indictment of the brutality that children around the world have to endure as a result of wars and at the same time, symbolized by the birds, as a hope for a better and more innocent life.
Angelita herself was a girl of about 5 years old who was found crying by Allied troops when they landed on the beach at Anzio in 1944. The soldiers adopted her and gave her the name by which she became known, since no one knew who she was or where she came from. A few days later, the girl was killed in bombing raids.