El Angel Caído: Monument to Lucifer

My beginnings in the tourism business took place on top of a panoramic hop on-hop off bus in Madrid, seven years ago, pointing out the most interesting spots to the tourists; we completed, depending on traffic and time of year, an average of seven tours a day and I worked there for about a year, which more or less adds to about 2000 trips round the city: enough to get you bored no matter how much you love your city and it’s beauties. Fortunately, every trip had a few rewarding moments where you could see something in the tourist face that made it worth it: expressions of awe, disbelief, admiration or simple always welcome fun. For most people, one of the most surprising details of their visit was finding out about the Fallen Angel. “And on this corner of El Retiro Park, further up that road to your right, you will find the only monument in the world dedicated exclusively to… Satan”. Best effect if there were kids on board and you lowered and hoarsened your voice as you revealed the starring character, eyes not blinking and gaze lost, in your best imitation of “Someone flew over the cuckoo’s nest”. I am not Robert Redford, you know, and combining the acting and my face resulted more than once in crying kids and angry mums, I swear!
The statue, which presents very recognisable helenistic, baroque and romantic influences, is a beautiful piece of work of a much more melancholic than terrifying nature. It can be also disquieting though, especially if you approach it in a clouded windy autumn afternoon and there seems to be nobody around but you and an evil looking boy wearing a cardigan. Damian? Is that you?...
The sculpture, inspired by some verses of Paradise Lost by John Milton, dates from 1877, and is signed by Ricardo Bellver, originally made in plaster cast and later molten to bronze by the Thiebaut-Fils house in Paris to fit the requirements of the Universal Expo of 1878 in the French capital. In 1879 was first placed in El Retiro and in 1880 a pedestal was designed and built in bronze and stone, presenting infernal faces to match the subject. The complete piece was inaugurated in 1885.
Want to know something weird about its location? Although measurement systems at the time were not nearly precise enough to notice this, the exact official altitude in meters from sea level of the fountain’s location is… you guessed it! 666, the number of the Beast! Awesome, right? (this is no joke or invention and there is a plaque in the ground, near the fountain, certifying this fact by the National Cartographical Institute).

(…)what time his Pride / Had cast him out from Heav'n, with all his Host Of Rebel Angels, (…) To bottomless perdition, there to dwell / In Adamantine Chains and penal Fire, (…) round he throws his baleful eyes / That witness'd huge affliction and dismay / Mixt with obdurate pride and stedfast hate (…)

John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book I, Chant I.