Monument to the Discoverers

The Monument to the Discoverers was inaugurated on October 12, 1892, marking the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus’s arrival in America. The original project consisted of a hexagonal pedestal with several bodies, serving as the base for a column crowned by a globe.

In the early 1890s, the Provincial Government of Huelva entrusted Ricardo Velázquez Bosco with the construction of a monument to Columbus and the explorers of America on a plot previously owned by the House of Alba, near the monastery of La Rábida.

Its origin lies in the Americanist movement in the province of Huelva on the occasion of the events commemorating the IV Centenary of the Discovery of America. A commemorative column built in 1892, dominating the surroundings of the La Rábida monastery and overlooking the banks of the Tinto and Odiel rivers.

In its structure, the Tuscan column stands on a pedestal located on an artificial mound, reached by four large straight staircases, forming a Greek cross in plan, completing the circle in which four landscaped sectors are inscribed.

The Monument to the Discoverers, also known as the Column of the IV Centenary, is dedicated to the “discoverers” of America.

Between 1963 and 1967, the monument underwent restoration by Luis Martínez-Feduchi, substantially altering the original work. In the early 21st century, the monument was in a very poor state of conservation. It was declared a cultural heritage site in 2008.

A new restoration, aimed at consolidating the monument by installing a reinforced concrete core, also sought to recover elements of the original work, such as the terrestrial globe or a crown. It was carried out during the 2010s. The work was completed by 2014, and the monument, with a height of 54.90 m (including the recovered elements), was re-inaugurated on July 31, 2014. Three carved heads representing Native Americans (apparently corresponding to the Aztec, Maya, and Taíno civilizations), part of the original monument, were found buried beneath it around 2011 during the dismantling of the column.