site.btaPM Zhelyazkov Pays Tribute to Ivan Vazov Monument in Rome

Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov and the Bulgarian delegation laid a wreath at the monument to Ivan Vazov on Thorvaldsen Square in Rome, the government press service said on Thursday.

The memorial to the patriarch of Bulgarian literature, situated near the National Gallery of Modern Art and Villa Borghese, was unveiled 15 years ago to mark May 24, the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture, and Slavic literature.

Earlier in the day Zhelyazkov paid tribute at the monument to Captain Petko Voyvoda on Janiculum Hill, where it stands beside memorials to Giuseppe Garibaldi and other Italian freedom fighters. The bronze statue of the Bulgarian revolutionary was inaugurated on December 2, 2004, the 160th anniversary of his birth.

Zhelyazkov is in Vatican City and Rome ahead of May 24, the Day of Slav Letters, the Day of Sts Cyril and Methodius, the Day of Bulgarian alphabet, education and culture, and Slavic literature.