‘Embracing Peace’

A version of this sculpture was set up alongside the port at Civitavecchia, Italy, in 2012. It is said to have actually sparked huge objections in the city when it was suggested that it be completely eliminated in 2013.

The statue is directly on the walking course in between the cruise/ferry terminal and the railway terminal which connects the city to Rome. Street car park is readily available along the northern side of Viale Giuseppe Garibaldi but it is frequently hard to locate an area.

A somewhat smaller, and considerably much less controversial, “kissing” sculpture was set up at Civitavecchia Port (in the public promenade bordering Fort Michelangelo) in 2020. It is a 10-foot-tall bronze statue illustrating a lady worn 1940s clothing being kissed by a sailor dressed in the war time uniform of the Port Authority. Unlike the bigger statue, the present suggests a consensual kiss. The title of this statue is Kissing in Memory of a Port and was produced by the Marinelli Shop under the direction of Ivana Puleo. It was moneyed by a combination of private and company contributors. It is stated to have been mounted both as a memorial to those who left the port in The second world war, usually never ever to return, and in memory of the historic Port Authority structures which were destroyed by battle during the war.

A rather smaller sized, and significantly less questionable, “kissing” sculpture was installed at Civitavecchia Port (in the public promenade bordering Fort Michelangelo) in 2020. It is a 10-foot-tall bronze statuary showing a lady clothed in 1940s garments being kissed by a sailor clothed in the war time attire of the Port Authority. The title of this sculpture is Kissing in Memory of a Port and was produced by the Marinelli Foundry under the instructions of Ivana Puleo.

This imposing 25-foot-tall sculpture is among a number by the musician Seward Johnson. Initially presented in Florida under the name Unconditional Surrender, it is now called Embracing Peace, a name that has remained in use because around 2015.

The statue shows a kiss between a seafarer (George Mendosa) and an oral assistant (Grete Zimmer Friedman) on the declaration of the end of the war with Japan in 1945. It’s based on photo images, absorbed Times Square and released at the time. There is some controversy over whether the sculpture is based on a photograph by Alfred Eisensteit or Victor Jorgensen. The sculpture has actually come to be debatable because Greta Zimmer Friedman has actually mentioned that the kiss was not consensual.