Monument to Saint Francis of Assisi

• Author: Ramón Arcaya.

• Materials and technique: Bronze.

• Measurements: 2.20 m.

• Location: place de San Francisco.

• Date of installation: 25 September 1927 (inauguration).

In 1927 a monument dedicated to Saint Francis was erected to commemorate the 7th centenary of his death. The city thus paid off the debt contracted seven centuries ago with the saint from Assisi, who, according to the Franciscan chronicles, appeared in Pamplona in 1213, and with his example and preaching contributed decisively to the pacification of the burghs of San Cernin and San Nicolás, which were immersed in a fratricidal war.

The project was the work of the Pamplona sculptor Ramón Arcaya, to which the architect J. Alzugaray made certain modifications. Initially erected in the centre of the place of San Francisco, on a base very different from the current one, the elements that made up the ensemble were part of a symbolism that related the saint to the city. In 1993 it was dismantled and moved to the Municipal Schools, a location that allows it to visually connect with two of the most representative urban areas of the city, Paseo de Sarasate and Calle Mayor.

In its current configuration, the monument adopts a vertical display starting from a double-step staircase, on which rise a cubic block and a sturdy column, with inscriptions, coats of arms and a bronze relief that sample the pacification between the burghs of Pamplona. The ensemble is crowned by the bronze group of Saint Francis of Assisi standing with his arms outstretched, with an austere, beardless face and dressed in a humble sackcloth; he is accompanied by the wolf of Gubio, with a fierce look and open jaws, whose presence signifies that peace had not yet been definitively established among the burghs of the city. Arcaya composed a calm work in which he shows the dignity of the character depicted and his moral authority, which led to the pacification of the burghs of Pamplona.