The old brick

[Drax]

Albox Council has a historical treasure - but above all sentimental - in its hands. It is a 300-year-old brick that was one of those used to build the Sanctuary of El Saliente.

This has been given to the mayor of Albox, Francisco Torrecillas by the rector and bishop of Almería who have "seen fit to donate a brick that is 300 years old of those made in Albox and which part of the sanctuary".

Although at this point the new location of the brick has not yet been confirmed, the main option for the Albojense councilor is currently to place it in the replica of the monastery that has been built in the main access roundabouts to Albox. "First we will see where can we better locate it and study a site to also put a descriptive plaque of what this brick means".

And it is that like the brick, the materials with which the monument of the roundabout has been made also originate from Albox . Specifically, travertine has been used for this project, which has already been completed after the installation of the lighting as well as the bars on balconies and windows that are also a reliable replica of those found in the Sanctuary of El Saliente.

Inauguration and return to the Mayor's Office
Once he returns to the Mayor's Office in the month of September after a prolonged absence due to covid-19 and his subsequent recovery, Torrecillas's intention is to inaugurate the new monument that same month. "We want to make the inauguration coincide on the 8th in the afternoon with the bishop who will be present to inaugurate this replica of the Sanctuary of the Salient", said Torrecillas. "It is something that represents the town and that now is the door to the town of Albox.

[frankie]

Maybe I am being a pessimist but I do wonder how long it will be before someone crashes into this monument?  Perhaps not an ideal place to put a historic brick...

[Roscoe]

Shame the plastic letters let down, also a traffic hazard, sighting of traffic coming from the opposite direction is poor as I got cut up by a car coming from opposite direction, as usual no indicators.

[frankie]

As someone who rarely ventures down tht way from my mountain eyrie, I cannot help thinking it is on a par with the ridiculous marble head which is situated outside the Museum on the main road past Olula.  The two probably cost about the same using money which would be better spent on other things.
I was horrified when I learnt the cost of the head (forget the exact amount but it ran into thousands), not helped by the discovery, when it was half built, that the blocks which it was made up from, had been positioned wrongly and it had to be dismantled and rebuilt! 
Only in Spain!!!

[Drax]

As I understand it, the head "La Mujer del Almanzora” was crowd-funded by selling 180 bronze replicas. The sculpture cost a half million euros.

Made entirely of white Macael marble extracted directly from the quarries of the Cosentino company, it consists of 84 stone blocks of variable dimensions and thickness (80 m³), anchored to an internal, embedded metal structure on a foundation made of reinforced concrete. The total weight of the sculpture is 230 tons.

The monument is hollow inside and can be visited. For this, a small underground exhibition hall has been built on the foundation, which is accessed by an external staircase from the square.

[frankie]

That's interesting, Drax!  The inner metal  structure is different colours and we all thought that was the finished article as it was there for ages before the blocks started to appear.  I also didn't know the internal hollow part was open to the public.  I still think it is an eyesore!