[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 95 (Tuesday, June 10, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1189]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               HONORING THE LEGACY OF CONSTANTINO BRUMIDI

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                           HON. JOHN L. MICA

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 10, 2008

  Mr. MICA. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the life and legacy of 
Constantino Brumidi, who has been referred to as the Michelangelo of 
the United States Capitol Building. It is appropriate that Congress 
honor his incredible contributions to our Nation by awarding him the 
Congressional Gold Medal.
  On July 26, 1805, Constantino Brumidi was born in Rome, Italy of an 
Italian mother and a Greek father who inspired him with a love of 
liberty. While Constantino Brumidi's Greek ancestry stirred his passion 
for liberty and citizenship, his Italian heritage provided the art 
styles of the Renaissance and the Baroque which influenced the artwork 
of the U.S. Capitol.
  Constantino Brumidi became a citizen of the United States as soon as 
he was able, embracing its history, values and ideals. Beginning in 
1855, Constantino Brumidi designed and decorated one House and five 
Senate committee rooms in the Capitol, as well as the Senate Reception 
Room, the Office of the Vice President and most notably, the 
President's Room, which represents Brumidi's supreme effort ``to make 
beautiful the Capitol'' of the United States.
  In 1865, Constantino Brumidi completed, in just 11 months, his 
masterpiece, ``The Apotheosis of Washington,'' in the eye of the 
Capitol dome. In 1871, Constantino Brumidi created the first tribute to 
an African American in the Capitol when he placed the figure of Crispus 
Attucks at the center of his fresco of the Boston Massacre. In 1878, 
Constantino Brumidi, at the age of 72, and in poor health, began work 
on the Rotunda frieze, which chronicles the history of America. On 
February 19, 1880, Constantino Brumidi died at the age of 74, four and 
a half months after slipping and nearly falling from a scaffold while 
working on the Rotunda frieze.
  Constantino Brumidi, proud of his artistic accomplishments and 
devoted to his adopted country, said: ``My one ambition and my daily 
prayer is that I may live long enough to make beautiful the Capitol of 
the one country on earth in which there is liberty.''
  Madam Speaker, Constantino Brumidi's life and work exemplifies the 
lives of millions of immigrants who came to pursue the American dream.

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