A marble canopy for the poet Ibn Zaydun and Princess Wallada

A small marble monument in the historic center of Córdoba marks a passionate love. It serves as a memorial to the poet Ibn Zaydun and the princess-poet Wallada, who lived during the era of the Infantes de Lara and were known for their love poetry.

Their relationship was intense. Ibn Zaydun dragged his passionate love through the gardens of Córdoba, which were filled with his kisses and poems. When Wallada abandoned him to choose another man, Zaydun was desperate and wrote a letter to his rival as if he were writing it to the princess. Wallada responded with insults, calling the poet a degenerate, adulterer, and thief, which left Zaydun with no choice but to leave Córdoba.

This site captures that history. The 1971 structure is a canopy supported by four columns without bases and a pedestal with two hands. Inscribed on the marble are poems from both lovers. The area of Córdoba where the monument stands was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1994.

The monument stands in a region where new poetic forms emerged, such as the zéjel and the moaxaja. While earlier poetry in this period was written in classical Arabic and maintained primitive themes, the area of Córdoba saw the birth of these distinct new meters.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons