Who knew that a block of Leonard Street down in TriBeCa had been designated Lorenzo da Ponte Way, after the famed librettist of Mozart's DON GIOVANNI, LE NOZZE DI FIGARO and COSI FAN TUTTE? I happened upon this street sign yesterday while downtown for a dance rehearsal.
Da Ponte moved to America in 1805, fleeing his creditors. In 1828 he was appointed professor of Italian literature at Columbia College, now Columbia University. He died in 1838 and was initially buried in Manhattan.
Later his remains were transferred to Calvary Cemetery in Queens, where this marker stands.