ST. PETERSBURG, August 2 (RIA Novosti, Olga Vtorova) - Russian sculptor Zurab Tsereteli's monument to the victims of the 9/11 attacks on New York City has been loaded onto a ship in the port of St. Petersburg.
The monument, weighing 150 metric tons, will now be taken across the Atlantic and mounted at a site near Ground Zero. Its centerpiece - a huge crystal sculpture representing a tear (hence the title, "Tear of Sorrow") - has been clad in leaf iron to keep it from being damaged along the way. In accordance with Tsereteli's design, the tear, with water pumped inside it, is to sit atop a 30-meter-tall bronze-plated iron stele that has been cut in half.
In September 2003, Tsereteli and the mayor of New Jersey agreed to have the monument erected on the Hudson peer overlooking the World Trade Center redevelopment site. However, the mayor soon died and New Jersey City Hall refused the Russian sculptor's gift, citing a negative response from local residents.
In March 2005, the authorities of nearby Bayonne said they would like to have Tsereteli's 9/11 monument in their city. The work to put the gigantic memorial in place is due to begin in September.
