The monument standing before you was originally intended to be unveiled during a royal wedding celebration, but the tragic death of King Alfonso the Twelfth forced the city to cancel the ceremony. The project had already faced years of stagnation following a failed initial proposal in the nineteenth century, and the king's death in eighteen eighty-five left the nearly completed stone pedestal standing empty for years while the white marble statue of Columbus was still being finished by sculptor Jeronimo Sunol. When it was finally unveiled in eighteen ninety-two, there was no fanfare or public celebration. The monument has since traveled, having been dismantled in nineteen seventy-six to make way for urban redesign, only to be moved back to this original spot in two thousand nine. If you look closely at the base, you can see four intricate stone reliefs depicting the explorer's history, including a scene of Queen Isabella offering her jewels to fund the voyage.
Monument to Christopher Columbus
landmark
© OpenStreetMap © CARTO
The audio tour continues in the Mira app →