Triunfo de San Rafael de la Puerta del Puente

Statue in Córdoba

The Triunfo de San Rafael de la Puerta del Puente or Triumph of Saint Rafael of the Bridge Gate is a statue of San Rafael, in Cordoba, Andalusia, in Spain.  It is located overlooking the Roman Bridge and next to the Mosque-Cathedral. There are actually many of these monuments to the archangel throughout the city, usually bearing his symbols of the  fish and the pumpkin, many crowning a column or a pillar elevated on a pedestal.

History of the Triunfo de San Rafael

The cities devotion to the archangel dates back to the 17th century, when the city suffered from an epidemic of the plague.  San Rafael appeared to Father Andrés de las Roelas in a vision and told him that he would save Córdoba from the epidemic. When the plague subsided, there were sightings of the archangel throughout the city and he was named the eternal Custodian of Córdoba. A few years later the first of these triumphs was placed on the Roman Bridge around 1651 quickly followed by other monuments, financed by individuals and local corporations.

Triunfo de San Rafael de la Puerta del Puente

The column was begun in 1765. Michel de Verdiguier made changes to the original design and it was finally finished in 1871. The monument has a height of more than twenty-seven meters, is made up of a black marble base and column. The statue stands on a cushioned pedestal surrounded by columns rising from a castle, which, in turn, stands on a mountain with images of saints. The whole monument is adorned with animal figures and representations of the bountifulness of Córdoba’s soil.

The column has wide steps and crags, from which the water that represented the birth of the Guadalquivir had to come out. Black sculptures of Moors that represented the surrender of these to San Rafael, surrounded by shields. The statue was made in Rome and the rest carved in Córdoba.

The Triunfo de San Rafael de la Puerta del Puente appears in our Complete Guide to Visiting Córdoba!

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Visiting Triunfo de San Rafael de la Puerta del Puente

Hours:

24 Hours


Price:

Free

Address: Triunfo de San Rafael de la Puerta del Puente Calle Corregidor Luis de la Cerda, 85 14003 Córdoba Spain
Duration: 10 minutes

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