Statue of Christopher Columbus (Lima)
| Monument to Christopher Columbus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Salvatore Revelli |
| Completion date | 1860 |
| Medium | Sculpture |
| Subject | Christopher Columbus |
| Dimensions | 3 m (9.8 ft) |
| Designation | Cultural heritage of Peru[a] |
| Location | Lima, Peru |
The Monument to Christopher Columbus (Spanish: Monumento a Cristobal Colón) is a 10-feet-high statue by Salvatore Revelli dedicated to Christopher Columbus, located in the central pedestrian path of the second block of Paseo Colón, a street of the Historic Centre of Lima, Peru. Originally inaugurated in 1860 in what is now Rímac District, it was eventually moved to its current location in 1906.
As of 2025, the statues of the street, including that of Columbus, are currently located at the Park of the Exhibition due to the ongoing underground construction works for Line 2 of the Lima and Callao Metro, which started in July 2024.[1]
History
[edit]The statue is the work of Italian artist Salvatore Revelli, and built with Carrara marble.[2] It was originally located at the Alameda de Acho,[b] where it was inaugurated on August 3, 1860, during a ceremony that featured the city's prefect, mayor, police intendant and Mariano Felipe Paz Soldán, the director of the city's penitentiary who was in charge of the statue's placement.[5] Also present was president Ramón Castilla.[6]
Due to the chaos then rampant in the area north of the Rímac River, the statue was damaged and plundered several times. Additionally, the construction of Balta Bridge meant the end of the oval park where it was located, which led to its move to the middle of the Plazuela de la Exposición in 1873 (in what is now Grau Square.[7] Prior to this move, the statue's relocation to the squares of Saint Anne or Saint Francis was also considered, but not carried out due to different obstacles.[7] During its period at the Exhibition Square, an ultimately unsuccessful proposal arose to replace the Statue of Neptune at the park of the same name that was plundered by the Chilean Army during the military occupation of the city.[8]
It was ultimately moved to its current location, the centre of the newly formed Paseo Colón (near its intersection with Inca Garcilaso de la Vega Avenue), also named after the navigator,[6] in 1901.[7] It was vandalised in 2016,[2] and eventually underwent renovation efforts by PROLIMA in 2020.[6]
See also
[edit]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Part of Paseo Colón, which itself is part of the national protected area of Lima District, concurrent with the buffer zone of the area defined as the Historic Centre of Lima by UNESCO in 1988.
- ^ A promenade by Viceroy Manuel de Amat y Junyent that existed near the bullring of the same name, also known as the Alameda Nueva to distinguish it from the Alameda Vieja.[3] It was eventually paved over and the area where the statue used to be located now serves as the entrance to Balta Bridge.[4]
References
[edit]- ^ "Centro de Lima: inicia parcialmente el plan de desvío por obras de la Línea 2 del Metro". El Comercio. 2024-07-08.
- ^ a b "Personas con banderas de la cruz de Borgoña escudan la estatua de Cristóbal Colón en el Centro de Lima". Infobae. 2021-10-12.
- ^ Pino, David (2010-11-20). "La Alameda de Acho". Lima la Única.
- ^ Coello Rodríguez, Antonio. "Puente Balta. El viejo puente de fierro". Siete.pe. Archived from the original on 2015-04-02.
- ^ "Inauguración de la estatua de Colón". El Comercio (in Spanish). July 23, 2021. Retrieved January 29, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Municipalidad de Lima inicia restauración del monumento a Cristóbal Colón". Andina. 2020-10-10.
- ^ a b c Coello Rodríguez, Antonio (2021). "El desembarco de Cristóbal Colón en Lima: la historia de su estatua y de sus traslados". Revista del Archivo General de la Nación. 36 (1): 203–220. eISSN 2707-2746. ISSN 0259-2371 – via Archivo General de la Nación.
- ^ Hernández, Laura (2022-06-09). "Escultura de Neptuno de Lima: esta es su sorprendente historia". La Sexta.
