From today, a sculpture of the Virgen del Carmen, patron saint of sailors, welcomes all those who enter the port of Calpe. The sculpture, which the Calpe City Council has installed in the port area, was unveiled at midday today.
This sculpture, designed by the artist Arturo Serra Gómez, is intended as a tribute by Calpe to the seafaring family and was originally scheduled to be installed in 2024 to coincide with the celebration of the centenary of the Fishermen's Association. However, delays in administrative authorisations prevented it from being installed last year.
The sculpture was created by the sculptor Arturo Serra and cost €155,000. The work represents the Virgin of Carmen, patron saint of sailors, according to traditional iconography, that is to say, with the child in her arms and the scapular in one hand, on a pedestal of the offering of flowers, and accompanied by three (anonymous) bearers and a child, representing three generations (grandfather, father, young man and child).
The pedestal is completed with details related to the marine world: a fishing net and a thick knotted ship's hawser. The pedestal also incorporates the plaque with the commemorative text.
The base with the figure of the Virgin and Child is approximately 3 metres high and is made of bronze with a thickness of 7 millimetres. The sculpture has been installed on a 19 m2 area of urbanised land at the entrance to the port and the image faces the sea to welcome sailors as they arrive at the port.
At today's ceremony, which was attended by the regional director of Fisheries, Juan Planelles, the sculptor, Arturo Serra, said that ‘the sculpture is intended as a tribute to the seafaring family represented in the four generations accompanying the image of the Virgin’.
The head of the brotherhood, Paco Catalá, said that ‘this image also symbolises those who came before us, those who dedicated their lives to the sea and are no longer with us’.
For her part, the mayor, Ana Sala, declared that ‘this is Calpe's tribute to the brotherhood on its centenary, a well-deserved tribute, especially in these difficult times for the sector. We support the Brotherhood in its struggle and its demands in the face of the cuts in fishing days’. The event ended with a performance of the traditional maritime hymn by the group Solera Artística.