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The biggest statue of Spain

Although it is not very popular, the biggest statue of Spain is located in the south of the country. Specifically, in the park of San Jerónimo in Seville. This statue is known as ‘Huevo de Colón’, in English “The egg of Colombus” that reflects both the reality and the history behind it. In fact, it was named as ‘El Nacimiento del Hombre Nuevo’ (The Birth of the New Man) and this is what it looks like.

El Huevo de Colón

Another view of the Egg of Colombus. | alfonsocg1983, Wikimedia

This statue was a present from Russia to Seville due to the celebration of the Universal Exposition in 1992. This ‘Birth of the New Man’ is a work of Zurab Konstantines dze Tsereteli, the current president of the Arts Academy of Russia. This statue is located at the end of the promenade of the San Jerónimo park, in the neighbourhood of the same name in the Andalusian capital.

This bronze work can be seen easily from the surrounding area, as its great measurements. It has a height of 45 metres, although it could say that it has just 32 metres, if one only wants to count the sculpture without the egg that surrounds it. Due to its material, it weighs around 500 tonnes and required almost nine months to build.

The figure that represents this statue is, obviously, Christopher Columbus. The historic explorer is holding a map of the ocean in his hands, which also shows the three caravels that accompanied him on his first expedition to America: ‘La Niña’, ‘La Pinta’ y ‘La Santa María’. Further, we will talk about the egg that surrounds it, when we review the legend that speaks of Columbus’ egg.

The statue was inaugurated in October 1995, but it also has a negative note: the continuous despoiling to which it has been subjected. Shortly after it was placed in the park, the plates covering the statue were already missing. For that reason, its appearance is different from what it looked like almost thirty years ago.

The legend of the egg

The statue of the Egg of Colombus. | Ana Rey, Flickr

This sculpture of Christopher Columbus is inserted in an oval shape due to the following legend. The story tells the journey of the explorer coming back to Spain, after his first ocean voyage. According to historian Benzoni, Columbus was invited to a banquet organised by Cardinal Pedro González de Mendoza, where several of those present questioned the value of his achievement and the value of his person.

They questioned why so many medals had been awarded to Columbus because, in their view, anyone with a certain amount of skill could have carried out the same task. The fact that he had been the first was irrelevant because if he had not been the first it would have been someone else. At that moment, Columbus took an egg and asked them if anyone could keep it in an upright position on the table and without any support. After several attempts, nobody could get it, but Columbus had the solution: he smashed one end of the egg and it could stand up straight. Probably, it seems easy, but only he had thought of doing it.

This is the history of the egg of Colombus, which is represented in the biggest statue of Spain. Although this is just a legend, it has a significant moral. There are things that appear to be very difficult, but which turn out to be easy when you know how to do them. For that reason, someone must do it first, of course.