Arco de la Victoria

Arco de la Victoria
Arco de la Victoria, Madrid
Interactive map of the Arco de la Victoria area
General information
Typetriumphal arch
LocationMoncloa, Madrid, Spain
Construction started1950
Completed1956
Design and construction
ArchitectsModesto Lopez Otero and Pascual Bravo Sanfeliú
Other information
Public transit accessPríncipe Pío
View of the northwest side with its Latin inscription ARMIS HIC VICTRICIBVS MENS IVGITER VICTVRA MONVMENTVM HOC D.D.D.
View of the northwest side with its inscription
View of the chariot at the top of the arch, as seen from the Faro de Moncloa (Moncloa Tower)
View of the chariot from the Faro de Moncloa

Arco de la Victoria ([ˈaɾko ðe la βiɣˈtoɾja], "Arch of Victory") is a triumphal arch built in the Moncloa district of Madrid, Spain. It is also known informally as the Puerta de Moncloa for its resemblance other Madrid landmarks, Puerta de Alcalá and Puerta de Toledo. The 49-m high arch was constructed at the behest of Francisco Franco to commemorate the victory of Francoist troops in the 1936 Battle of Ciudad Universitaria, part of the Spanish Civil War.[1][2]

Description

Bas relief frieze on the Arco de la Victoria
Bas relief frieze on the Arco de la Victoria

This triumphal arch stands on a rectangular base of 130 m by 42 m (about 142 by 46 yards). It is supported by two rectangular structures. Its height is 42 m, not counting the 7 m added by Minerva's chariot on top.[3] At the foot of each of the two side structures, there is an entrance accessed through a small door. From these entrance lobbies, you can access the top via a marble staircase with six intermediate landings. At the top, there are observation points in a central exhibition hall, which has never been used. The hall can also be accessed by elevators located in each of the two side lobbies.

The sculptor Moisés de Huerta, from Valladolid, was in charge of making  the neoclassical bas-relief of the frieze. The bas-relief is made up of thirty-four allegorical figures. In the northern frieze, the figures represent military virtues, while those on the opposite side represent academic disciplines (literature, science and arts). The sides are the graphic expressions of the Latin inscriptions on the arch. On the west side, a winged Minerva touches the foreheads of two men with her hands, an allegory of intelligence: Mens iugiter victura. On the east side, a seated woman with a cross on her chest, an allegory of the University as a Catholic institution, welcomes those who approach her: florescit in conspectu Dei.[4]

Southeast lettering

Text

Northwest side

[5]

The frieze on this side has ten figures. On the northwest frontispiece (front) that faces the University City, you can read the following Latin inscription:

ARMIS HIC VICTRICIBVS MENS IVGITER VICTVRA MONVMENTVM HOC D.D.D.

And below, on the face of two medallions crowned by laurel, you can see two years expressed in Roman numerals:

ANNO MCMXXXVI Α and ANNO MCMXXXIX Ω

The translation of the Latin inscription of this frontispiece is:

To the victorious arms, here the spirit destined to triumph eternally has given, offered, and dedicated this monument.

The abbreviation D.D.D. means "gives and dedicates" ("dat, dicat, dedicat"), the latter two Latin terms being synonymous). Another version of the meaning of D.D.D. is "dato decreto decurionum"("granted by decree of the decurions", in this case referring to members of the city council of Madrid). The word VICTVRA is ambiguous and can mean the one who will overcome or the one who will live.

The years are 1936 and 1939, the beginning and end of the Spanish Civil War.[6] The alpha and omega letters next to each number are the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet and traditionally represent the beginning and end of an event.

Southeast side

The frieze on this side also has ten figures. On the southeast frontispiece (rear) facing Moncloa (i.e. the city) it has the Latin inscription:

MVNIFICENTIA REGIA CONDITA AB HISPANORVM DVCE RESTAVRATA ÆDES STVDIORVM MATRITENSIS FLORESCIT IN CONSPECTV DEI

And below, in two crowned medallions, two years appear again in Roman numerals:

ANNO MCMXXVII Α and ANNO MCMLVI Ω

The English translation of this inscription is:

Founded by regal munificence, restored by the leader of the Spaniards, may the house of Madrid's studies flourish in the presence of God.

The inscription is interpreted to refer to the University City when it says "estudios matritenses", the place where the arch is located.[7] The dates correspond to the dates when the construction of the campus began (alpha) and when its restoration was finished (omega) after the battle. The dates are 1927, when the construction of the University City began on the initiative of Alfonso XIII, and 1956 when the Arco de la Victoria was inaugurated.[8][9]

Construction

After the Spanish Civil War, the area where the Arch is now located was gradually restored and the Faculties of Philosophy and Letters, Sciences (Chemistry department) and Pharmacy, as well as Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros College were once again operational in 1942. The restoration work was slow due to the priority placed on restoring other areas of the city. Despite this, classes resumed in 1943 in the new University City.[10] The site which four years earlier had been occupied by a battlefront was gradually being restored to its function as a university.

The first sketches

The idea of a triumphal arch was born earlier, on February 26, 1942 in a session of the Permanent Commission of the Board of the University City. The Board Chair, José Ibáñez Martín, commissioned a design for a triumphal arch at the site.[11] The architect Modesto López Otero responded to the initiative with a sketch whose first layouts and style would be maintained in future designs. In 1943, some aspects of the design work were finalized, improving on the initial ideas and sketches. The general idea of the project was already clear, with the basic design of a classicist triumphal arch presided over by an equestrian statue of Francisco Franco. However, the project was set aside due to lack of budget and the need for other, more essential, public works after the war. Also, the Latin inscriptions of both frontispieces that were suggested in the first sketches had nothing to do with those that were eventually carved. It is assumed that the author of those inscriptions was Pedro Laín Entralgo.

The next time the project moved forward was in 1946.[12] The Head of Public Works launched a consultation with the Board in 1946 for a project to modify the entrance to the city and the site of the "Arco de Triunfo" in honor of Francisco Franco and the Spanish Army. The question was whether or not to build the arch. The Board of the University City ratified the proposal in its Standing Committee meeting on May 16, 1946. This event gave the green light to the construction project at the main entrance to the city of Madrid. The work got off to a slow start due to a limited budget. The main person in charge of the work was Modesto López Otero, assisted by Pascual Bravo Sanfeliú. The design work concluded on November 17, 1948 and the plans were sent to the architect of the Civil Construction Board: Luis Bellido, who gave his approval.

Construction work

The first foundation work began in 1950 and was completed in one year. The project was progressing slowly and it was not until the Minister of Education, Joaquín Ruiz-Giménez, gave his support to ensure that most of the work--excepting decorative elements--would be completed by 1955. Its final cost was eight million pesetas.[9]

Finishing touches

Surprisingly, the Arco de la Victoria was never officially inaugurated.[13] The sculptural ornamentation was commissioned on July 12, 1951 to the sculptor from Valladolid, Moisés de Huerta, who would be in charge of making the sculptures of the allegorical classicist-style bas-reliefs of the frieze.[14] Moisés de Huerta was also commissioned to make an equestrian statue of Francisco Franco dressed as a general, to be placed in the open space at the front of the Arch facing the University City. In fact, this equestrian statue was never placed at the Arch; it was placed in front of the Ministry of Housing.

Similarly, on November 14, 1953, José Ortells López was commissioned to create the winged victory sculptures for the keystones of the arch.[4] The chariot placed on top is the work of Ramón Arregui Sagarzazu and was the ornament that took the longest to finish. Some sources claim he was assisted by the Valencian sculptor José Capuz in some decorative elements of the chariot (quadriga).[15] Copper cladding was commissioned on August 30, 1955, but it was difficult to install due to a copper shortage. In July 1956, work continued on seemingly endless finishing touches, waiting for an inauguration that would never come.[16] At some point in the 1970s, the space inside the arch was used to store part of the archives of the Technical University of Madrid.[17]

A nearby building commemorating those fallen for Madrid (now used by the Municipal Board of the Moncloa-Aravaca District) was initially planned by the Madrid City Council on May 29, 1949 as a tribute to the fallen, in homage to the battle of Madrid.[18] The winner of the competition, entitled "Caídos por Dios y por España" (Fallen for God and for Spain) was the popular Madrid architect Manuel Herrero Palacios. On October 29, 1954, the first stone of this building was laid. However, this building, which was planned to accompany the Arch, was not completed according to the architect's initial specifications.

Updates

In February 1987, the Arch was cleaned and restored.[19]

In 1990, the Madrid architect Salvador Pérez Arroyo designed the Faro de Moncloa. This tower was completed in 1992. It reaches 110 m (about 120 yards), approximately sixty meters higher than the Arco de la Victoria. Access to the tower's crescent-shaped observation area is through two exterior glass elevators. The viewpoint is shaped like a crescent. In 2015 it was reopened for tourism.

During the term of Mayor Manuela Carmena (2015-2019), the Arch was known as Arco de la Memoria (Arch of Memory).[20]

Abandonment and restoration

In the years prior to 2024, the monument suffered considerable deterioration due to lack of maintenance and environmental and human causes (damage, dirt, graffiti ...). However, the Madrid City Council and the Complutense University of Madrid, which owns the land where it is located, reached an agreement in 2023 to restore it, returning the Arch to a suitable state of preservation and putting it at the service of the public.[21] The City Council hoped to establish requirements by the second quarter of 2024 and proceed with the tender and execution during 2025. There is discussion of renaming the Arch to Arco de la Concordia (Arch of Harmony), and the street where it is located has already been renamed to Avenida de la Concordia on December 12, 2024.[20]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Top Attractions: Victory Arch". Madrid Tourist Info. Madrid Tourism. Retrieved 25 September 2015.
  2. ^ "Madrid's dangerous attempt to distort the history of the Spanish civil war | David Mathieson". the Guardian. 6 June 2013. Retrieved 2015-09-25.
  3. ^ Guiá de arquitectura y urbanismo de Madrid [Guide to Architecture and Urbanism in Madrid] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Colegio Oficial de Arquitectos de Madrid. pp. 283–286. ISBN 9788485572328.
  4. ^ a b Irigoyen de la Rasilla, María Julia (2004). Patrimonio artístico de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid [Artistic heritage of the Universidad Complutense of Madrid] (in Spanish). Madrid: Universidad Complutense. p. 42.
  5. ^ Varas, Julio César (December 31, 2022). "INSCRIPCIONES NEO-LATINAS EN MADRID".
  6. ^ Martínez Reverte, Jorge (2004). La Batalla de Madrid [The Battle of Madrid] (in Spanish) (1 ed.). Barcelona: Crítica. ISBN 9788484325574.
  7. ^ Moradiellos García, Enrique (2003). La Guerra Civil [The Civil War] (in Spanish) (1 ed.). Marcial Pons. p. 11. ISBN 9788495379696.
  8. ^ Campos Calvo-Sotelo, P. (2006:xxiv). The Journey of Utopia: The Story of the First American Style Campus in Europe. United States: Nova Science Publishers.
  9. ^ a b Palacio Atard, Vicente (1971). El Arco de Triunfo de la Ciudad Universitaria [The Victory Arch of the University City] (in Spanish). Madrid: Artes Graficas Municipales. OCLC 38769313.
  10. ^ Chías Navarro, Pilar (1986). La Ciudad Universitaria de Madrid: Genesis y Realizacion [Madrid's University City: Genesis and Development] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Editorial Complutense. p. 132.
  11. ^ Acta del 26 de febrero de 1942 de la Comisión Permaenente de la Junta de la Ciudad Universitaria (Act of February 26, 1942 of the Standing Committee of the University City).
  12. ^ Castro Berrojo, Luis (2008). Héroes y caídos: políticas de la memoria en la España contemporánea [Heroes and the fallen: The politics of memory in modern Spain] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Catarata. p. 148. ISBN 978-84-8319-347-1.
  13. ^ Alvarez-Fernández, José Ignacio (2007). Memoria y trauma en los testimonios de la represión franquista [Memory and trauma in testimonies of Francoist repression]. Memoria rota (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Rubí (Barcelona): Anthropos Editorial. p. 62. ISBN 978-84-7658-810-9.
  14. ^ Bazán de Huerta, Moisés; Huerta, Moisés de (1992). El escultor Moisés de Huerta, 1881-1962. Bilbao: Bilbao Bizkaia Kutxa. ISBN 978-84-8056-000-9.
  15. ^ "La Filmoteca". Archivos de la Filmoteca: revista de estudios históricos sobre la imagen (Archives of the Film Library: Journal of Historic Image Studies) (in Spanish). 42–43. Valencia, Spain: Filmoteca Generalitat Valenciana. 2002.
  16. ^ Bonet Correa, Antonio; Ureña, Gabriel (1981). Arte del franquismo [Art of Francoism]. Cuadernos Arte Cátedra (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra. p. 92. ISBN 978-84-376-0287-5.
  17. ^ D Corrons, (1978), El Archivo de la Universidad Complutense de Madrid (Archive of the Technical University of Madrid), Boletín de la Anabad (Bulletin of the ANABAD Federation).
  18. ^ Bases del concurso publicadas en el Boletín del Ayuntamiento de 20 de junio de 1949 (Contest rules published in the city council bulletin, June 20, 1949.
  19. ^ Jerez Riesco, José Luis (2006). El Madrid de la Falange [La Falange's Madrid] (in Spanish) (1st ed.). Madrid: Actas. p. 519. ISBN 978-84-9739-056-9.
  20. ^ a b García, Manuel Manahén (2024-12-18). "De la Victoria a la Concordia, pasando por la Memoria, ¿qué ocurre con los nombres de esta avenida de Madrid?" [From Victory to Concord, passing through Memory: What is happening with the names of this avenue in Madrid]. El Debate (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-02-13.
  21. ^ Madridiario. "La restauración del Arco de la Victoria, a un paso". Madridiario (in Spanish). Retrieved 2026-02-13.

40°26′09″N 3°43′13″W / 40.4359°N 3.7202°W / 40.4359; -3.7202

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