Monument to Cervantes - Plaza de España

The Cervantes Fountain was commissioned by Alfonso XIII in 1915 to commemorate the third centenary of the publication of the second part of Don Quixote. The main body of the monument was erected in the 1920s, but the work wasn't completed until the 1960s with the addition of the side sculptures of Aldonza and Dulcinea.

This magnificent monument, located in the Plaza de España, is structured in two main sections that culminate in an attic. The figures of Don Quixote and his squire Sancho Panza stand on the central pedestal, inviting passersby to pause and contemplate them amidst the hustle and bustle of Madrid life.

The duality of imagination and reality is reflected in the bronze construction of both figures, in contrast to the other sculptures made of stone. Behind them, presiding over the entire composition, is the figure of Cervantes holding a copy of Don Quixote.

On the sides, scenes from La Gitanilla are reproduced on the right, and from Rinconete y Cortadillo on the left. The back is dominated by Spanish Literature, symbolized by a woman. The fountain is located at her feet with the coats of arms of all the Latin American countries, and in the attic, symbolic figures of the five continents hold the globe with an allegory of Fame or Victory as a symbol of the universality of Cervantes' work.