The National Historical Commission of the Philippines (NHCP) has turned over to the city government here the refurbished monument of Antonio Pigafetta, the Italian scholar and explorer who wrote historical facts about Cebu and the Philippines.

NHCP Chairman Rene Escalante, in his speech during the unveiling of the monument at the Plaza Independencia compound on Tuesday night, said the “monument is living testament of Filipino-Italian friendship as it was donated to the city government of Cebu by the Philippine-Italian Association”.

He said the commission sees the value of the monument to the Filipino people as “this is the only memorial we have for an equally significant world figure”.

The event was part of the Philippine Quincentennial celebration of the Victory of Mactan which will be celebrated on April 27, 2021.

Pigafetta’s statue is facing the sea to signify his works that chronicled the arrival of the fleet led by Ferdinand Magellan in Cebu some 500 years ago.

Escalante said the text installed on the pedestal of the monument established in 1980 was revised by the NHCP Board to highlight Pigafetta’s contribution to Philippine history.

“Thus the historical marker we have just unveiled is a rare one. The (NHCP) Board wanted to highlight in the historical marker the value of Pigafetta to our country. And that is the fact that this Italian contributed immensely to our understanding of the world of our ancestors, especially our pre-colonial ancestors from the Visayas, Palawan and Mindanao,” he said.

Escalante noted that Pigafetta regarded the early Filipinos with utmost respect, describing them as fellow human beings, not as inferiors because he was European.

“Jose Rizal, when he began writing the Philippine history from a Filipino point of view, used Pigafetta in combatting the Western misconception and racist remarks of the Filipinos,” he said.

Mayor Edgardo Labella thanked the NHCP for the effort to instill in Cebuanos the importance of Pigafetta, saying it was an honor that the monument has been turned over to the city and placed at the Plaza Independencia.

In his speech, he said the city “humbly accepts the statue with a commitment that we will take care of this so that the future generation of Cebuanos will always be reminded of the significance that this man, Pigafetta, had brought to our country the Philippines, in general, and Cebu, in particular”.

Labella praised the historian from Venice whose works have preserved the memories of the Cebuano ancestors and underscored the “bond of friendship” between Cebu and Italy.

During their expedition to the Philippines, Pigafetta served as Magellan’s assistant and kept an accurate journal, which later assisted him in translating the language spoken by the Cebuanos at that time.

He was one of the 18 men who completed the circumnavigation of the world, returning to Spain in 1522, under the command of Juan Sebastian Elcano, out of the approximately 240 who sailed out to Spice Islands three years earlier. (PNA)