The city of Tortosa, capital of the region of the Ebro, retains the largest franquist monument in Catalonia. It was built by the dictatorial regime in 1966 and inaugurated by the dictator on 21 June that year.

The monument is located in the middle of the river Ebro, passing by the old city, above one pillar of Cinta's old bridge. This bridge, which has not been rebuilt, was destroyed during the withdrawal of the republican troops in April 1938 to prevent the passage of Franco's troops on the left bank of the Ebro.

Built in cast iron and with a height of 45 meters, the monument consists of two vertical structures in the form of stylized pyramid of different heights. The first structure is crowned by a large eagle that held in its claws the 'Victor' of Franco, the dictator's personal logo. The symbol was removed from the monument in the 80's of XXth century, once achieved the democracy.

The second structure, of higher dimensions than the first one, is broken at its base by shrapnel holes, which are being progressively transformed into candles and crosses. The pyramid is topped by the figure of a fighter who shows to the sky a star, as if it were a lighthouse. In the back, looking symbolically the Pàndols mountains and the Cavalls mountains, stands a latin cross in memory of those killed in the battle of the Ebro. At the base of the sculpture were embedded the following information:'To the Leader of the Crusade and the Peace in Spain' and 'To the fighters who found the glory at the Battle of the Ebro'. The first inscription was removed from the 80's.

The monument was commissioned to commemorate the 25 anniversary of the Battle of the Ebro on the initiative of the Provincial Council of the Movement in 1962. The works lasted 2 years and its cost was 4.5 million pesetas. It was funded on the basis of grants and donations from the County, municipalities and private donations.

In 2008, the city of Tortosa decided to remove the plaques placed on a street near the monument to remember the dedication of the memorial, but for various groups and political parties such gestures have clearly been insufficient. Since the restoration of democracy, some movements have emerged claiming the physical removal of the monument. In 2010, a popular entity organized a petition to remove the monument and collected more than 2.000 signatures, half of them residents of the city. Later that year,  the City Council discussed a popular motion driven by the Casal Popular Panxampla that requested the removal of the monument and changing the name of a school and a district of the city for its unambiguous reference linking to Franco. The motion was rejected by a majority vote of CiU -local government- and the PP party.

The author

The author of the monument is the sculptor Lluís Maria Saumells i Panadès (Gironella, Berguedà 1915, Tarragona, June 9, 1999). Saumells was appointed in 1954 director of the School of Art workshop of Tarragona, and played an important teaching work, while setting out in the spanish state and abroad his work. He obtained, among others, the Sant Jordi Awards (1958) of the Provincial Council of Barcelona and Barcelona City (1970) sculpture.