Statue and column At the very top of the monument stands a tall
bronze statue atop a tall
Corinthian column. The statue was sculpted by
Rafael Atché and is said to depict Columbus pointing towards the
New World with his right hand, while holding a scroll in the left. The statue points south-southeast (a more southerly direction than the adjacent Rambla Del Mar and almost a perfect extension of the direction of
La Rambla, Barcelona) and in effect is pointing at a point somewhere near the city of
Constantine, Algeria. To point at Genoa in northern Italy the statue would have to face east-northeast and point up the coastline. It is more likely that the statue is situated in the current way simply to have Columbus point out to sea underscoring his achievements in naval exploration. The statue is atop a
socle, on which the word "Tierra" (land) is inscribed.
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 persons 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 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, a Mallorcan cartographer • Luis de Santángel Bessant • Captain Pedro Bertran i de Margarit, next to a kneeling Native American. • Father Bernat de Boïl, preaching to a kneeling Native American. An
elevator inside the column takes visitors up to a
viewing platform at the top (just below the socle).
Plinth The canted octagonal
plinth is inset with 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 •
Moguer •
Puerto Rico •
Cuba •
Barcelona Base The base of the monument is a wide circle, with four staircases. Each staircase is flanked by two lions. ==Construction==