Columbus Monument - Barcelona

After Christopher Columbus landed in North America by mistake - he was actually searching for India - a 60 metre tall cast-iron column was erected in La Rambla, Barcelona to commemorate his so-called discovery. 

A statue of Columbus, constructed from bronze, stands atop the column and was long said to show the explorer pointing west towards the New World. However, the statue in fact points south-southeast and instead it’s more likely to show Columbus pointing out to sea in order to demonstrate his great naval achievements.

This monument was several decades in the making having been first proposed by Antoni Fages i Ferrer in 1856. It took until 1872 for Antoni to gain the support of Barcelona’s mayor, Francesc Rius i Taulet and a resolution was passed in 1881 to build the monument. It was finally completed in 1888.