Monument to a Spanish General: Valor and Peace in Madrid

The Monument to the Marqués del Duero stands tall in the heart of Madrid, where the Plaza del Doctor Marañón harbors a historical landmark. Known as Monumento al Marqués del Duero or simply Marqués del Duero, this public art installation is an equestrian statue, carved out of bronze and boasting a formidable height of 4.55 meters. The statue was designed and created by Andrés Aleu, a renowned Spanish sculptor, and was commissioned to honor Manuel Gutiérrez de la Concha y Irigoyen, a Spanish general who fought against Carlism.

The statue, which weighs 8,280 kilograms, was cast in Seville using cannons loaned by the Spanish State. Funding for additional costs was raised through a nationwide popular subscription. The statue was surrounded by several rows of flower pots upon its inauguration, although it was likely installed before that day. The statue’s pedestal upon which it stands carries two reliefs that depict the important episodes of Gutiérrez de la Concha’s life. One relief shows the general entering the city of Porto during the Portuguese Civil War, while the other illustrates the moment when his assistants raised his mortally wounded body out of the Battle of Monte Muro during the Third Carlist War. The inscription on the statue reads: 'Al Capitán General, Marqués del Duero'.

Gutiérrez de la Concha, also known as the Marqués del Duero, was posthumously awarded the Grand Cross of the Order of the Tower and Sword by the Portuguese Government and the Spanish nobiliary title of Marqués del Duero on account of his peacemaking role during the Portuguese Civil War.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons