The Unknown Sailor Monument is a monument built in honor to the sailors who fought and died in the

Battle of Iquique The Battle of Iquique was a naval engagement that occurred between a Chilean corvette under the command of Arturo Prat Chacón and a Peruvian ironclad under Miguel Grau Seminario on 21 May 1879, during the naval stage of the War of the Pacifi ...

, a naval battle off the coast of Chile. This monument was given by the Chilean Navy to the city of Iquique in tribute to the seamen. It was opened by the Commander in Chief of the Navy and member of the Pinochet-led Military Junta, Admiral

José Toribio Merino José Toribio Merino Castro (December 14, 1915 – August 30, 1996) was an admiral of the Chilean Navy who was one of the principal leaders of the 1973 Chilean coup d'état, along with General Augusto Pinochet of the Army, General Gustavo Le ...

, on August 20, 1977, when Commander Eduardo Angulo Budge was in charge of the Naval District North.

Description

The monument is located in the extreme north of the city Iquique, and it is an imposing statue made of

bronze Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals, such as phosphorus, or metalloids such ...

wielding the

Chilean flag Chilean may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Chile, a country in South America * Chilean people * Chilean Spanish * Chilean culture * Chilean cuisine * Chilean Americans See also *List of Chileans This is a list of Chileans who ar ...

. The monument is a figure of an unknown sailor, in whose hands rests an axe as a sign of boarding. It is looking at the sea and behind it there are sandy hills. His figure represents sailors without identity, who lost their lives at sea. We can also see at the entrance an explanatory sign showing the movements of the ships during the Naval Battle. This statue stands atop a small rocky summit, from where tourists are able to gaze the entire coast of Iquique, including the Buoy “Esmeralda”. It is located opposite the buoy that indicates where the sunken remains of Corvette Esmeralda are located, which was defeated during the Naval Battle of Iquique in 1879.

External links

AL MARINERO
in Consejo de Monumentos Nacionales {{Coord missing, Chile Buildings and structures in Tarapacá Region Tombs of Unknown Soldiers Monuments and memorials in Chile Naval monuments and memorials Victory monuments