MONUMENTS
SAINT RAPHAEL’S TRIUMPHS
SAINT RAPHAEL’S TRIUMPHS
There are many triumphal statues of Saint Rafael in different parts of our city, mostly erected during the second half of the 18th century in gratitude for his guardianship and protection of Cordoba. According to tradition, the archangel Saint Raphael appeared to Father Andres de las Roelas when the city was struck by a plague epidemic in the Middle Ages. The archangel said to him “I swear to you by Jesus Christ that I am Raphael, the angel God has appointed to guard this city”, and since then the pandemic subsided.
Of all the triumphs, the one that towers next to the Bridge Gate and opposite the south-west corner to the Mosque-Cathedral stands out for its majesty. This one was ordered to be built by the Cabildo in the middle of the 18th century, but the work was halted as soon as it began due to the death of the two commissioners in charge of supervising it. A few years later, the new bishop, Martin de Barcia, resumed the project and entrusted it to Miguel Verdeguer, who completed it at the end of 1781.
The base of this triumph simulates a hill on which stands a castle with the coat of arms of the bishop who carried out the project. On this hill are the guardians of Cordoba, San Acisclo and Santa Victoria, and on the opposite side Santa Barbara. There is also a grotto at the foot of the mountain, guarded by an eagle and a lion. A grazing horse, a sun between reeds and palm trees, vines, ears of corn and other plants complete the sculptural ensemble.
The complex is surrounded by an iron fence with ten pedestals with Latin inscriptions alluding to the city and the archangel Saint Raphael.
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