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Equestrian statue of Augustus (Mérida)

Coordinates: 38°54′18″N 6°21′51″W / 38.904871°N 6.364105°W / 38.904871; -6.364105
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38°54′18″N 6°21′51″W / 38.904871°N 6.364105°W / 38.904871; -6.364105
LocationMérida, Spain
DesignerEduardo Zancada Pérez [es]
MaterialBronze, granite
Height3.75 m (statue)
Weight2.5 tonnes (statue)
Opening date25 April 2007
Dedicated toAugustus

The equestrian statue of Augustus is a bronze statue of Augustus, the first Roman emperor, riding a horse. It dates from 2007 and is in Mérida, Spain, located on a roundabout at the intersection of the Avenida de Portugal and the Avenida Reina Sofía. Emerita Augusta, today Mérida, was founded as a Roman colony in 25 BC at the order of Augustus to serve as a retreat for the veteran soldiers (emeritus) of the legions V Alaudae and X Gemina.

History and description

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The sculpture was initially intended to be erected on the roundabout of Tres Fuentes,[1] yet plans changed along the way. With a budget of 112,780 € in disposal, the municipal managing board awarded the project in September 2005 to Eduardo Zancada [es], the only artist who had entered the public competition,[1] and himself a son of the mayor of Mérida between 1952 and 1954, Eduardo Zancada Alarcón.[2] There is another sculpture of Augustus in a city's roundabout, near the Lusitania Bridge.[3]

Cast in bronze in Madrid at Codina's foundry,[4] the sculpture weighs 2.5 tonnes.[5] The 3.75 metre high sculpture,[6] features the Roman emperor riding a horse without stirrups, wearing a muscle cuirass, and brandishing a staff while keeping the sword in the belt.[7] It lies on top of a granite plinth.[8]

Shortly before the 2007 municipal elections, the sculpture was inaugurated in April 2007 along the whole reform of the traffic circle, with an inner radius of 7.50 m and an outer radius of 17.50 m,[9][5] at about the same time that another equestrian statue also by Zancada featuring Augustus' son-in-law Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa.[9]

References

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Citations
  1. ^ a b "El consistorio encarga a Zancada la estatua del emperador Octavio". El Periódico Extremadura. 14 September 2005.
  2. ^ Pinero, Félix (28 January 2019). "Eduardo Zancada Pérez, el escultor de Augusto, Agripa y Carlos III". Mérida y Comarca.
  3. ^ Vinagre, C.J (1 February 2007). "La estatua ecuestre de Augusto coronará la glorieta de Cepansa". Hoy.
  4. ^ Bazán de Huerta 2016, p. 172.
  5. ^ a b Peguero, César (26 April 2007). "La avenida Reina Sofía estará acabada en mayo". El Periódico Extremadura.
  6. ^ Vinagre, C.J (12 February 2007). "Zancada ultima para la ciudad una estatua ecuestre de Agripa". Hoy.
  7. ^ Bazán de Huerta 2016, p. 174.
  8. ^ Bazán de Huerta 2016, pp. 172–173.
  9. ^ a b Bazán de Huerta 2016, p. 173.
Bibliography