Obelisco

The Obelisco de los Cantones in A Coruña is a historic monument in the Cantón Grande, dedicated in 1895 in honor of the politician Aureliano Linares Rivas. Inspired by the Parisian obelisk, the project was funded by local notables and designed by the sculptors Saturnino and José Escudero. The hollow, fluted column is topped by a Corinthian capital that originally housed a four-sided clock with meteorological instruments. Because new buildings in the surrounding area overshadowed the monument, the shaft was raised by three stones in 1951. Today the obelisk is at the center of a comprehensive restoration plan by the city, intended to preserve it and secure its defining role in the cityscape.