The monument to Columbus is the largest in the world. It was designed by the architect Gaietà Buïgas, who was right to prefer to center it on a column instead of an architectural volume. It was set as a goal that it could be seen from a distance and from any angle.
It must be suspected that the sculptor Rafael Atché took into account this not at all banal aspect; for this reason he avoided incorporating a large flag in the admiral's hand and preferred to give relevance to the outstretched finger marking the path, the same finger that pointed to the discovered land.
The sizes give an idea of the dimension. The monument is 57.20 meters high and weighs 233 tons. He demanded the most solid foundations, taking into account the poor quality of the land, as was demonstrated when the Porxos d'en Xifré were built.
The column is a sum of pieces, which arrived there on top of a huge cart pulled by eight horses, a spectacle that delighted a large concentration of onlookers. The forge was carried out by the Wohlguemuht company. The reliefs were made in Comes Germans, located in a ship that soon became the famous La Paloma ballroom.
It is worth observing with tact the large branches that climb up to adorn the column with a touch of exoticism: marijuana.
The bronze statue cast in the workshop of Francesc Vidal is 7.60 meters; the shoe, 1.20 meters and was copied from the specimen treasured by the Shoe Museum; the finger, 50 centimeters, an exaggerated dimension, but necessary because of the prominence that was to be given to it.
What best conveys such grandeur was the photo montage that illustrates these lines and that deserved to be the cover of La Ilustración Nacional magazine. The simple comparison between the two figures is completely didactic.
It was inaugurated on June 1, 1888. Inside the entrance, this is confirmed by the tombstone in an ambiguous text that leads to being misinterpreted, since neither King Humbert I of Italy was present ( seriously ill) nor the President of the United States Grover Cleveland. The only authority that came from abroad was the mayor of Genoa.
The monument was not liked. The best image was created with originality by the great photographer Francesc Català-Roca: a vertiginous shot that some confuse with a luxurious fantasy phone.
