Columbus Monument

The Columbus monument is in Plaça del Portal de la Pau, where the southern end of the Rambla and Passeig de Colom meet, by the old port of Barcelona. The statue, which welcomes visitors who arrive in the city along the coastal ring-road, the Ronda del Litoral, is set on an iron column, and reaches a height of 60 metres. There is a lift inside the column to reach the half sphere which is just below the feet of the statue, and from here there is a panoramic view of the city.

The monument is to the explorer Christopher Columbus; an arm is extended and the index finger points to the sea, not to America, which is in the opposite direction. This position has always created controversy, and there are three currents of opinion to explain it. The first is that the statue should be taken as metaphorical, as, to point to America, it would have to face the Rambla and this would not be understood; another states that his finger is pointing to the route to the New Continent, that means the end of the port, to reach his destination by sea: and the third hypothesis is that Columbus' finger is pointing to Genoa, the city where the explorer was born.

The monument to Columbus, inaugurated on 1 June 1888, was built as the culmination of improvement works on the city coastline for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. Promoted by the city mayor at the time, Francesc Rius i Taulet, the monument was conceived by Gaietà Buïgas and the seven-metre statue was by the sculptor Rafael Atché. Financing the monument was difficult, as it was first based on public donations which resulted insufficient, so the city council had to take on the costs.