One of Barcelona’s most readily seen monuments is its Monument to Columbus, Colon in Spanish.
It’s noticeable because of its location, right at the heart of the old port, and at the southern end of La Ramblas, the famous thoroughfare. And because it’s just a hair under 200 feet tall; the bronze statue itself is 24 feet tall. And, before the pandemic, it was possible to go up to the top.
It’s fully-equipped with elaborate symbolic figures, names of places he visited and the like, and it comes complete with legends, stories and questions. Those include why a huge statue of Columbus is in Barcelona, a city he never lived in nor set sail from on his voyages.
The answer for that is that a prominent Barcelona figure, Antoni Fages i Ferrer was a huge fan, and spent 16 years from 1856 agitating for a monument on the basis that Barcelona is where Columbus came to deliver his first post-trip report to Isabella and Ferdinand. By 1872, he got the mayor on board, but the real push came when it became part of planning for Barcelona’s 1888 Universal Exposition.
You’ll note that Columbus, is pointing with his right-hand and holds a scroll in his left, perhaps the report to the King and Queen. But his back is to the city, so where is he pointing? One popular belief was that he was pointing to his hometown of Genoa, Italy… but that’s in the opposite direction. Another is that he’s pointing to the New World… but wrong direction again, unless the New World is in Constantine, Algeria. Best guess is…he’s pointing to the ocean.
In recent years, a new version has come to be asked about why there’s a huge monument to Columbus in Barcelona, in an age where the colonial era he sparked off has come under new scrutiny. There have been campaigns and proposals to remove the statue, but so far, he’s still gazing out to sea…or to somewhere!
