You’re looking for a striking bronze statue of a man on horseback, towering above a circular fountain and guarded by four lounging lions-just look for the tallest pedestal in the middle of the Paseo del Espolón and you can’t miss it!
Now, picture yourself right here over 100 years ago. The air is buzzing with excitement, people packed into this very square, craning their necks to see the newest monument rise above them. This is the Monument to General Espartero, built to honor one of Spain’s most famous politicians and military heroes, Baldomero Espartero. He was once the regent of Spain, and he lived right here in Logroño with his wife, María Jacinta, who was a native of this very city-so, yes, Logroño was home base for a real power couple!
The statue you see took muscle to make-literally! All 11,130 kilos of bronze, mostly recycled from old cannons. That’s right, the very metal that once thundered through battles now stands peacefully beneath Espartero and his horse. And if you were around on the 27th of February, 1872, you’d have caught people clapping and cheering as the first stone was laid-on the general’s birthday, no less. I like to think this monument was their version of a surprise party.
But wait, the drama! The monument wasn’t originally supposed to look like this at all. The project changed hands and changed ideas more often than a soap opera-with sculptors Francisco de Luis y Tomás and P. Gilbert each putting in their two cents, until finally the leaping horse and its brave rider were cast and hauled all the way from Barcelona, where the bronze was smelted in big, smoky workshops.
Now, check out the lions at General Espartero’s feet-two are sleeping, two are wide awake, heads up and alert, as if guarding him night and day. Not a bad gig for a lion, except the fountain splashes nearby might tickle their paws.
Look closer at the words around the base: “Justice, Heroism, Victory, Prudence”-each one a tribute to Espartero’s bravery and, I suppose, his ability to keep a remarkably stern face on horseback. There’s even “Logroño” and “Spain,” so the city and the country are immortalized right here.
They say every city needs its local hero, and in Logroño, Espartero is the guy-hat firmly on his head, unlike his hand-holding twin in Madrid! So next time you cross a square and see a bronze horse standing proud, ask yourself: was this horse ever a cannon in a past life? Here, the answer is yes-and that’s the magic of history riding by your side.
