Monolith to Franco on the Beautiful Islas Cies

One of the few remaining monuments in Vigo of Franco's fascist regime was finally brought down on Tuesday after a failed attempt on Monday.

The beautiful Islas Cies are situated 10km (6miles) west of Vigo. The islands are a national park and features in the list of Top 10 Beaches in the world click here to see the review.

The islands are a natural barrier against the Atlantic and protects Vigo's bay from the fury of Atlantic storms which shelters the large mussel farming industry along with making the beaches on the mainland very safe for recreational activities. As beautiful as they are the islands had an ugly scar in the form of a 15m high monolith, erected during the times of Franco.

On 30 June the 15m high monolith on the Islas Cies erected in 1961 to honour Franco was set for demolition by explosives. To view the video of this slightly embarrassing moment click here or to view as a series of photos click here.
After the failure to fire (so to speak) of the day before, a further 25kg of explosives were laid yesterday, 1st July and the monolith was finally brought down.

Apparently the monolith had been reinforced with railway iron tracks, (obviously built to last) which went unnoticed on first inspection. Before the second attempt, these were cut through to allow for a more smoother toppling.

El Olivo - The Olive Tree

The olive tree, along with the Castro Fortress, appears on the coat of arms of Vigo. When the emblem was first designed, it was a tower and two olive branches, later the olive branches were replaced with the olive tree.

There are a few stories as to how the tree ended up at its present position on Paseo de Alfonso XII and just as many as to who originally planted it. What is not in dispute is its original location, which was the courtyard of the old Colegiata (Collegiate) Church (which no longer stands) but where you will now find the 19th century Colegiata Santa Maria.

The tree we see today is not the original, but rather a descendant. It is said that the original tree was planted during the 12th century, around the times of the Knights Templar. In 1780 a large gunpowder explosion in a nearby military store destroyed the church. When plans were made to build a new church on the site, and the tree was to be uprooted, a man with foresight by the name of Manuel Ángel Pereyra had the presence of mind to take a cutting which he planted, and in doing so kept the emblem of peace for the city alive, for many more generations to come.

The city of Vigo, a brief history...

Vigo is situated in the south west of Galicia, on the coast within the province of Pontevedra, 35km north of the Portuguese border and 100km west of Ourense. Set within a natural harbour and protected by the Atlantic by the beautiful Las Islas Cies.

Home to a population of some 390,000 this climbs to over half a million, when taking into account the Vigo metropolitan area.

Although there has been a permanent occupation of the area since before Roman times, the only records showing Vigo to be a village, start from around the 15th century. During Roman times a city by the name of Vicus existed within the area of present day Vigo and it is widely accepted that Vigo lends it's name from it's Roman predecessor.

Vigo has always been a sea fearing town and is home to the largest fishing port in Europe. This wasn't always the case and for a long period of time, played second fiddle to it's northern counterpart of Pontevedra but during the 19th century Vigo began to grow on the back of industry and by the early 20th century saw it become the leading economic center of Galicia. Trade with the America's increased and prosperity grew, much of the buildings leading down to the old town is the legacy of this Golden Age.

The Franco years brought about a period of economic, social and cultural decline, but nowadays Vigo is seeing a healthy revival in all respects and is a forward looking city with a thriving cultural scene.

The above is only intended to be a 'brief history' those requiring a more in depth view should try the following sites:

http://hoxe.vigo.org/conecenos/historia.php?lang=ing

http://www.turismodevigo.org/cies_historia_en.php