8 Lions

Sculptor: Agapito Vallmitjana i Abarca (sketch), Josep Carbassó (model)
Arquitecte: Gaietà Buigas
Materials: Cast iron painted in black
Inauguration: June 1, 1888

The base of the circular floor of the Christopher Columbus monument has four stairways, each of which is flanked by two cast iron lions. According to a realistic-naturalistic conception, the eight animals are represented in an attitude of guarding the monument. The two lions that look towards the sea and the two that look towards the Tibidabo mountain are represented seated, while the other four are standing. Certainly, the figure of this mammalian animal, carnivorous and with a robust body, has been a very common iconographic theme since antiquity. In many Western royal tombs, for example, the lion appears at the feet of the recumbent figures of monarchs as a symbol of power. Likewise, in important monuments, such as the one in question, as well as an ornamental function, the lions further accentuate the grandeur of the monumental commemorative complex.