Monumento a Colón

La Ramblas Boulevard ends at the oval square of Porta de la Pau, in the center of which stands Barcelona's most famous monument dedicated to the greatest Spanish navigator. The 40-meter-high Corinthian column, topped by a 7.2-meter statue of Christopher Columbus, was built for the opening of the 1888 World's Fair. The idea of a monument to the discoverer of America originated in 1856 with Antoni Fages I Ferrer, but it was not until 1872 that he received the support of Mayor Francesc Rius i Taulet, and the decision to build it was made 9 years later. In 1881, a project competition was announced, where only citizens of the Kingdom of Spain were allowed. The winner was the Catalan architect Gaietà Buigas i Monravà. The monument was built with public donations, the state invested only 20% of the total cost. The radical party of supporters of Catalan independence has repeatedly put forward a completely idiotic demand to demolish the monument. In 2020, a rally was organized for this reason, which did not find mass support (only about 250 people showed up), and the fight against Columbus ended there.

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