The new episode of “Hidden in Plain Sight,” the series by NYU Casa Italiana Zerilli-Marimò, will make a not-so-obvious connection with Italian influences stand out. The protagonist is the Angel of the Waters of the Bethesda Fountain in Central Park, one of the most beloved monuments, and the only one commissioned and completely paid for by the Central Park administration.

Scenes from countless movies have been filmed at its feet. But very few people know that the Angel was born in Rome, Italy, and was made by a woman, artist Emma Stebbins, the first woman to receive a public art commission in New York City.