The City of Rochester has marked the approach of Veterans Day by rededicating an historic World War One memorial in Washington Square Park.
Rochester Environmental Services Commissioner Norm Jones says The hundred-year-old cannon was seized by the Italian Army from Austrian forces during the First World War. The Italian Government gave it to Rochester in 1921 in honor of 1,400 Italian Americans who volunteered to fight for Italy, joining the Italian Army before America entered the war.
Over the last 90 years the wheels literally came off the cannon, so the city sent it to a restoration service in Georgia. The City says restoring it honors those Italian American volunteers, and also highlights the city’s work on restoring Washington Square Park itself.