Everyone likes a good monument, right? The Aguamarga monument sits between the city of Alicante and the airport, and is easily reachable in a car. Quite how we had missed this on all of our trips into the city is beyond me. It’s quite impressive in its size but only visible from the road if you know where you are looking! So, what’s it all about?
The website Alicante Vivo (link to translation of article) gives a good description of what the monument represents. It is quite unusual these days to see something that is so clearly Falange being cared for and restored. On the aforementioned website there are several pictures taken in 2007 which show how the monument had fallen into a state of disrepair and was covered in offensive graffiti. Unlike then, it is now fully accessible and the fence seen in the old photo has disappeared.
Located on a hill upon which many Falange soldiers were executed during the Spanish Civil War, it was built in 1941 to pay homage to the martyrs on Franco’s side. It may have been a place of great tragedy but it has a magnificent view of the Mediterranean coast to the south of Alicante. Local sculptor Daniel Bañuls Martínez was the man responsible for the monument, and more of his work can be seen in Alicante at the Luceros roundabout.
There is nothing else to see there so it’s not really worth a special trip in itself, but if you are passing close to the airport, it may be worthy of a short diversion. Let us know your thoughts if you decide to take a look for yourself.
