The ''Angel of Victory and Peace'' () or ''Angel of Victory'', also referred to by some as ''Ángel del Fascismo'' ("Angel of Fascism"), is a ruined monument in

Valdepeñas Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso d ...

, Spain. It was a

Francoist Francoist Spain (), also known as the Francoist dictatorship (), or Nationalist Spain () was the period of Spanish history between 1936 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death i ...

memorial designed by Juan de Ávalos that consisted of a colossal statue of an angel holding a sword. The monument was made of a reinforced stone sided by two poles. It was partially destroyed in 1976.

History and description

The Provincial Deputation of Ciudad Real commissioned the project to build the monument and awarded it to Juan de Ávalos. The site chosen for the erection of the monument is located two kilometres away from the city of

in the

province of Ciudad Real The province of Ciudad Real () is a province in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete, Jaén, Córdoba, Badajoz, and Toledo. It is partly located ...

. It stands at the top of a hill, the ''Cerro de las Aguzaderas'', visible from the Manchegan plain and the Madrid–Cádiz national road (currently superseded by the A-4 highway). Unveiled in 1964, the sculpture consisted of a 15-metre high angel holding a blade-like cross sided by two 25-metre high stone stakes. The plaque reads ("the province of Ciudad Real, as a tribute of gratitude in memory of its martyrs. 1936–1964"). It served as memorial to the Rebel (Francoist) faction in the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

. In the early morning of 18 July 1976, during a series of attacks carried out by

GRAPO The First of October Anti-Fascist Resistance Groups () was a Spanish clandestine Marxist–Leninist group aiming for the formation of a Spanish Republican state. The group was anti-capitalist, anti-imperialist, and strongly opposed Spain's me ...

around Spain, an explosive device was detonated in the monument. The responsibility for the attack was claimed by the aforementioned group. The stone pieces of the angel were destroyed with only the inner metal framework remaining. Pieces of the monument were recovered about 300 metres away from the site. Following the attack, far-right

Fuerza Nueva New Force (, FN) was the name of a far-right political party in Spain founded by Blas Piñar, director of the Institute of Hispanic Culture and longtime ''procurador'' in the Cortes Españolas during the Francoist period. Originally operating ...

organized an event of "redress" in Valdepeñas, in which

Blas Piñar Blas Piñar López (22 November 1918 – 28 January 2014) was a Spanish far-right politician. Having connections to Catholic organizations, during the Francoist dictatorship he directed the Institute of Hispanic Culture (''Instituto de Cultur ...

intervened and the ''

Cara al Sol (English: Facing the Sun) is the anthem of the Falange Española de las JONS. The lyrics were written in December 1935 and are usually credited to the leader of the Falange, José Antonio Primo de Rivera. The music was composed by Juan Tellerí ...

'' was sung. The monument resulted in a semi ruinous and somewhat "ghostly" condition, with the angel being turned into metal clutter, although the two stone bundles remain. The original plaque was also removed.

References

;Citations ;Bibliography * * * * * {{authority control Francoist monuments and memorials in Spain Monuments and memorials in Castilla–La Mancha Stone sculptures in Spain Sculptures of angels Vandalized works of art in Spain Buildings and structures in the Province of Ciudad Real Colossal statues in Spain