I have just read an extensive biographical synthesis about Mayor Rius i Taulet written by a doctor in History. He assures that the President of the United States, Grover Cleveland, attended the inauguration of the monument to Columbus.
It is not a surprise to find this manifest error, since the statement published in this regard is taken for granted and they simply repeat it without further ado. It is not worth investigating, as the probable suspicion arises immediately if one asks a few logical questions.
Since 1888 was an election year, was it wise to waste time on a long trip to Barcelona for so little reason in the interest of the United States? Nor was it logical for him to visit the Exhibition, open until December. His presence would have been commented on with considerable relevance in the press, just as that of the kings of Portugal and Sweden and the Prince of Wales was highlighted.
I think that the confusion came from the text of the tombstone hanging inside the entrance to the monument. Here is the verbatim transcript:
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A hasty reading of the term “representados”, reinforced by a “hallándose”, surely caused this confusion.
I suspect that the author of the text of the inscription on the tombstone was the influential high official Carles Pirozzini, a decisive figure in the cultural sector of the time.
The text does not lie, but it provides a subtle ambiguity in the case of a hasty reading, very typical of the place in which it is displayed. The proof is that it gave birth to the urban legend.
Journalistic chronicles report on the presence of the Queen Regent sitting on a throne, the president of the Council of Ministers (Sagasta was accompanied by the heads of Development, Navy and War), the ambassador of the United States and the mayor of Genoa.
Mayor Rius i Taulet and President Sagasta took the floor.
The solemn event ended with the mayor of the Italian city placing a large wreath at the foot of the monument on the side facing the sea.
