Columbus Monument, Barcelona

The Columbus Monument is a 60 m (197 ft) tall monument for Christopher Columbus at the lower end of La Rambla, Barcelona, Spain. It was constructed for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona and is located at the site where Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to the Americas.[1] The monument serves as a reminder that Barcelona is where Christopher Columbus reported to Queen Isabella and Ferdinand after Columbus' most famous trip

1-Pedestal

The column, hung with a device bearing an anchor stands on an octagonal pedestal from which four bronze winged Victories or Phemes take flight towards the four corners of the world, above paired griffins. Four buttresses against the octagonal pedestal bear portrait medallions that depict people related to Columbus:
Martín Alonzo Pinzón
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Isabella I of Castile
Father Juan Pérez
Father Antonio de Marchena
Andrés de Cabrera, Marqués de Moya
Beatriz Fernández de Bobadilla, Marquessa de Moya
Seated against the buttresses are four figures that represent the four realms of Spain: the Principality of Catalonia, and the kingdoms of León, Aragon, and Castile.
Against the base of the pedestal between the buttresses are four additional statues:
Jaume Ferrer de Blanes, a Catalan cartographer
Luis de Santángel Bessant
Captain Pedro Bertran i de Margarit, next to a kneeling Indian
Father Bernat de Boïl, preaching to a kneeling Indian
An elevator inside the column takes visitors up to a viewing platform at the top (just below the socle

2-Plinth

The canted octagonal plinth is inset withs eight bronze bas-relief panels that depict important scenes in Columbus's first voyage to the Americas:
Columbus and his son asking for food at the La Rabida Monastery
Columbus explaining his plans to the monks of the La Rabida Monastery
Columbus meeting King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in Córdoba
Columbus appearing at the council gathering in the Monastery of San Esteban in Salamanca
Columbus meeting the King and Queen in Santa Fe
Columbus leaving port from Palos de la Frontera on 3 August 1492
Columbus's arrival in the New World
Columbus greeting the King and Queen after his return in Barcelona
Alternating with the bas-reliefs are eight coats-of-arms representing locations that Columbus visited:
Huelva
Córdoba
Salamanca
Santa Fe
Palos de la Frontera
Puerto Rico
Cuba
Barcelona

4-Base

The base of the monument is a 20 m (66 ft) wide circle, with four staircases. Each staircase is flanked by two lions.

Construction

The idea of a monument to Columbus came in 1856 from Antoni Fages i Ferrer, who proposed that it be constructed entirely by Catalans, but he could not get anywhere with his plan for sixteen years. Finally in 1872 he gained the support of the mayor of the city, Francesc Rius i Taulet, and in 1881 the city passed a resolution to build the monument. A contest was held exclusively for Spanish artists to submit their designs with the winner being Gaietà Buigas i Monravà, a Catalan. Most of the money was privately raised, with only 12% being financed with public funds. All of the funding came from Spanish sources and the entire construction (labor and materials) was done by Catalans. Construction began in 1882 and was completed in 1888 in time for the Exposición Universal de Barcelona