The Journey of the Monument to Cayetano del Toro in Cádiz

The Monument to Cayetano del Toro, a tribute to a local ophthalmologist, was relocated to its current position in front of the main door of the Faculty of Medicine in 1974. While a project to place it in Plaza de Mina was initially proposed by Patrocinio de Biedma, that project did not crystallize. Following her death, the Academy fostered a collection to erect it in the then called Plaza de Méndez Núñez.

In 1928, Mayor Ramón de Carranza took up the project, seeking cooperation from Primo de Rivera. During this year, a "Velada teatral" was held at the Gran Teatro Falla to collect funds. The final contract for the monument, priced at thirty-five thousand pesetas, was signed for the location in Plaza de Méndez Núñez.

The first stone was laid in Plaza de Méndez Núñez in the presence of Primo de Rivera and various dignitaries. The monument was moved again in 1963 due to traffic reordering and was placed in Plaza Fragela. It eventually reached its current spot in 1974.

The monument consists of a white rock promontory with steps. At the top sits Cayetano del Toro with a girl next to him. At his feet, his mother kneels offering him a laurel crown with ribbons bearing the shield of Cádiz. The frontispiece bears the inscription: AL EMINENTE DOCTOR CAYETANO DEL TORO SU CIUDAD NATAL, 1842. 1915. AUTOR DE NUMEROSAS OBRAS CIENTIFICAS DIO GRAN IMPULSO A LA OFTALMOLOGIA. SIENDO PRESIDENTE DE LA DIPUTACION PROVINCIAL Y ALCALDE DE CADIZ HIZO GRANDES REFORMAS DANDO UN GRAN EJEMPLO DE ALTRUISMO Y AMOR A LA CIUDAD.

The back of the base features a marble bas-relief showing Cayetano del Toro leaning over a body, presumably his mother, with the word LA CARIDAD inscribed below it.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons