Intriguing Replacement of the Real Lions Guarding Spain's Cortes

The bronze lions, known as Hipomenes and Atalanta, outside Spain's Cortes are the current guards, initially not part of the designs envisioned by architect Narciso Pascual y Colomer. The original lion for the site sits in a garden in Valencia, while the initial sculptures commissioned to Ponciano Ponzano in 1853 faced difficulties with harsh weather conditions. Subsequent replacements in 1856 and 1860, commissioned again from Ponzano, met with challenges as well, bearing a resemblance to rabid dogs rather than impressive lions. Finally, bronze lions weighing about 2219 kg or 2668 kg were installed in 1860. These lions were restored for the first time in 1985.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons