Dueling camps held events Sunday to support and oppose the Columbus statue in Stamford's Columbus Park.

After last night's beheading of the Columbus statue in Waterbury, a metal barricade surrounded downtown Stamford's monument to the controversial historical figure today.

Maria Altamura helped start a petition three weeks ago, calling for the statue to be removed and for Columbus Park to be renamed after Stamford's first Italian mayor, Bruno Giordano. Altamura's group held an educational rally about Christopher Columbus involving indigenous speakers and the education community.

She says participants at her rally were asked to bring a nonperishable food item to support those in need across Fairfield County.

The Italian-American organization that put the statue up in the 1960s also held a peaceful rally of their own in support of the statue.

Michael Marchetti is the owner of Columbus Park Trattoria, which overlooks the Columbus statue on Main Street.  He says the petition seeking to alter the park is actually more divisive than the statue itself.

Both camps said they want a peaceful resolution to the issue.

Sunday's rallies came as Columbus statues across Connecticut have been removed in cities like Norwalk, Hartford, and New Haven.