At the far end of the Cascine Park stands an unusual, Oriental-inspired funerary monument recalling the brief, sad story of a visitor from distant India. In 1870 the young Indian prince Rajaram Chuttraputti of Kolhapur visited Florence. He stayed at the Grand Hotel in Piazza Ognissanti, where he died suddenly in his luxurious room, probably as a result of a serious lung infection. He was only 21.
In keeping with Hindu religious tradition, the maharajah’s body was cremated where the Arno meets the Mugnone. On the same spot, a small temple was erected in his memory by the sculptor Fuller.
The place has long been known as L’Indiano.