monument

Spanish Parliament calls for removal of Franco’s remains from ‘Valle los Caídos’ while PP’s abstains

May 11, 2017 01:27 PM | ACN

The Spanish Parliament approved a bill this Thursday presented by the Spanish Socialist Party aimed at removing the mortal remains of the two dictators Francisco Franco and José Antonio Primo de Rivera’s from the Valle de los Caídos basilica. The text calls for this monumental complex to “stop being a Francoist and national-catholic landmark” and to instead be turned into “a space for reconciliation and collective and democratic memory, aimed at dignifying and recognizing the victims of the Spanish Civil War and of the dictatorship”. Although it was a non-binding proposal, the governing Spanish Conservative, People’s Party (PP), abstained from voting. Catalan left-wing pro-independence ERC also abstained, but because they considered the proposal to be insufficient.

Barcelona dismantles Franco exhibition after sculpture of dictator pulled down

October 21, 2016 02:40 PM | ACN

Barcelona’s City Hall had to dismantle the exhibition ‘Franco-Victory-Republic: impunity and urban space’after the equestrian sculpture of dictator Francisco Franco was pulled down last night. The monument, the head of which was pulled off in an act of vandalism a couple of years ago, had suffered several attacks since it was put in place before the ‘El Born’cultural centre on Monday. It was vandalised with graffiti, many offended citizens threw eggs and fruits at it and even objects such as the head of a pig were spontaneously added to the monument. According to Barcelona’s Deputy Mayor, Gerardo Pisarello, the exhibition “was a good decision” rather than a mistake because “it has generated public debate and reflection on the Francoism impunity”. The exhibition also included another Francoist sculpture, ‘Victoria’, which was withdrawn this Friday by Barcelona’s City Hall, because it didn’t make “any sense without the sculpture of the dictator”, Pisarello explained.

CUP wants Columbus statue in Barcelona to be removed

September 27, 2016 07:33 PM | ACN

The representatives of pro-independence radical left CUP in Barcelona’s City Hall, CUP-Capgirem Barcelona, will ask for the removal of the iconic statue of Christopher Columbus, located at the end of the Rambla street, close to Barcelona’s port. They feel that the 60-metre-high monument, which was installed in the Catalan capital in 1888 to coincide with the Universal Exposition, “praises the conquest of America”. The three representatives from CUP-Capgirem Barcelona will suggest changing the Columbus monument for a memorial to the indigenous peoples of the Americas and the slaves brought to that continent, and their resistance in the face of “imperialism, oppression and segregation”. Liberal ‘Convergència’ have already opposed the removal of the monument and left wing pro-independence ERC said they will study CUP-Capgirem’s proposal, which will be discussed during a plenary session this Friday.

Barcelona’s Park Güell will have an entrance fee from Friday

October 23, 2013 10:47 PM | ACN

Aiming to control better the number of tourists visiting Antoni Gaudí’s famous Park Güell and to obtain revenue to pay for security and maintenance, a few months ago Barcelona City Council approved charging an entrance fee. Friday 25th will be the first day that visitors will have to pay for a ticket in order to access Gaudí’s monuments located in this park in the Catalan capital. The rest of the park will be open to the public as it used to be, without entrance fees. Up to Wednesday noon, 1,900 tickets had been sold for Friday, representing 23% of those available. In addition, the City Council delivered 25,000 cards for the park’s neighbours, in order to allow them access to the park’s entire area, including the zone where Gaudí’s monuments are located.

‘Catalunya en miniatura’, the largest miniature park in the world

March 19, 2012 09:40 PM | CNA / Bertran Cazorla / Laura Quintana

Gaudi’s buildings, Dali’s Museum of Figueres, and Montserrat Monastery, usually far away from one another, are some of the emblematic Catalan features that can be seen in ‘Catalunya en miniatura’. Unveiled in 1982, and celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2012, this miniature park presents, in a small format, the most important buildings, monuments and culture of Catalonia. It is the world’s largest tourist and cultural complex in miniature, and the only one in Spain. Now, the model park, a family business, has begun a new period with the NGO Dianova International buying more than a half of its shares.