The statue of Columbus symbolically completes the Rambla walk. However, I always do this after 9 PM, so I never visited the observation deck inside the column. Why does Columbus stand in Barcelona? Because his two remaining caravels, Pinta and Niña, returned to Spain in Barcelona, landing in Lisbon on the way. The monument itself was opened in 1888 in honor of the upcoming 400th anniversary of the discovery of America. Spain, which had already lost almost all the colonies in Latin America except Cuba, invited king Umberto I of Italy (the birthplace of Columbus) and President Cleveland of the United States to the celebration. 10 years after the short-lived war, the United States will take Cuba from Spain. The 7-meter-high Columbus by sculptor Raphael Atche points to the sea with the index finger of his right hand. However, the finger points not to America (it is behind), not to his native Genoa (it is on the left), but to Majorca. The message can be understood as follows: take the nearest ferry and after Barcelona to the Balearic Islands. What about Costa Brava and Costa Dorada, Columbus, eh?