Venus was originally considered goddess of gardens and fields, but was later identified with Aphrodite goddess of love and beauty. Venus was the wife of Vulcan, god of forging and metals, although she had lovers such as Mars, the god of war, the shepherd Adonis and Anchises, father of Aeneas. She was also Cupid’s mother, God of Love.
The statue is made of marble by Ponzanelli in the eighteenth century. At first it was placed in La Glorieta in 1818 from the Huerto de Pontons to pass in 1925 to Jardins del Real and finally it was moved a few years ago to the courtyard of the City Museum.
The monument to the master composer José Serrano, is the achievement of a series of initiatives, management, projects, aid, failures and, after all, determined obstinages, of the mayors Marqués del Turia and Adolfo Rincón de Arellano, and is located in the square formed by the streets of Borriana and Maestro Gozalbo as it flows into the avenue formed in the early twenties. to transfer the railway from Valencia to Barcelona to another route; urban road, wooded with more than two hundred palm trees, which successively was called Victoria Eugenia (April 14), José Antonio and recently Avenida del Reino de Valencia.
In this urban setting, the monument inspired by the composer was erected, consisting of a seated figure, cast in bronze, a realistic portrait of Maestro Serrano, with his cape, in front of a rectangular wall, landscaped, of dark stone, framing a long high relief or allusive frieze, in white Carrara marble, eight meters long, slightly curved, with diverse figures that alludes to the symphonic, chamber and popular music, composed and directed by the popular Valencian musician -son of Sueca- work of the sculptor S. Octavio Vicent.
A bronze bust by the sculptor José Esteve Edo. Bust bearing the “pectoral” cross, a premature attribute of his episcopate in Teruel. The work, surrounded by a short garden space, with stone benches, is on a pedestal not very high, with four carátulas of gilded bronze that pour water through the mouth on the pile below. Canon Mariano Liñan, bishop of Teruel, who left his fortune in the city.
There are several monuments in the Plaza de la Virgen. We find a sign composed of ceramic pieces -socarrats- with the title “Plaça de la Mare de déu” together with the representation of the Mare de Déu dels Desamparats -according to its ancient iconography- by Jaume Scals. It is placed on the main façade of the Dressing House.
There are two sculptural monuments in the square; one in the current street of the Hearts of the Virgin Mary where is the monument to Canon Don Mariano Liñán, a bronze bust by the sculptor José Esteve Edo -created according to the iconography of this character painted by Vicente López-. A bust bearing the “pectoral” cross, a premature attribute of his episcopate of Teruel. The Work, surrounded by a short garden space with stone benches, is under a not very high pedestal with four gilded bronze covers that pour water through the mouth over the pile below. The pedestal, on its obverse, has, under a laureate and crowned shield of the city of Valencia, an inscription that reads “To Canon Liñán” and, on the back, “The Society of Drinking Water and Improvements of Valencia paid for this fountain as a tribute to the promoter of the first supply of the City. 1977”.
The other monument also alludes to the waters and their unique regime in Valencia. He is gloriously personified in the already ancient Water Court that meets every Thursday at the Apostles’ Gate in which an oral, public and unappealable trial is conducted.
On the pedestal is the group of the three nymphs or graces, joined on the back with a newt.
Restored as one of the female figures lost her head, falling into the void formed by her and her two companions.
The author of the sculpture is Goujon.
Replica of a smaller Minerva owned by the National Museum of Ceramics Gonzalez Martí.
In gold letters the inscription was placed: “PALAS / ATENEA”, and on the pedestal that supports it was engraved: “PATRIAY ESTUDI” and under the coat of arms of the city. It was restored in 2002 by the company EMR.
The author of the sculpture is Robert Roca (ceramist).
It was moved to this place in April 1968 from the Alameda where it was located in turn since 1852 at the roundabout where the Exhibition Bridge is today.
It is a cast iron fountain that stands on a stone pedestal, all surrounded by a small iron railing.
As decoration we find Somormujos (palmiped birds common in Valencian wetlands) from where the fountain takes its name.
The source is authored by Barbezat and Compañía Vall d’Osne.
The work La Pamela, by Manuel Valdés -known as Manolo Valdés– is a very urban element where the proximity of the artistic piece itself to the environment is one of its most remarkable characteristics. It was acquired by the Hortensia Herrero Foundation and ceded to the city after winning a popular vote organized by its president.
Since June 2017 it has been temporarily exhibited in the pond of the museum of the City of Arts and Sciences along with five other sculptures by the Valencian artist. In January 2018, it was installed in La Marina de Valencia and can be visited on the esplanade of Tangle 2 of the Valencian dock.
The aluminum sculpture was installed on a wooden pedestal, forming a successful contrast and thus improving its conservation and proximity to the viewer.
Work of the sculptor Vicente Navarro Romero. It was installed in 1918 in the then Jardincillos de l’Audiencia (today Palau de la Generalitat) on the initiative of the Círculo de Bellas Artes de Valencia. With the construction during the Civil War of a shelter in these gardens, the sculpture suffered such deterioration that it was dismantled in 1939. It was an image of the painter sitting on a backless bench. Nothing else has been heard of this work.
In 1946 the painter’s son, Ignacio Pinazo Martínez , offered the Valencia City Council to replace the sculpture again with a model made by himself and at his expense. The site it now occupies was chosen as the site, and was placed in the gardens in 1949.
It is a seated figure of the painter (in his resting chair), made of marble of approximately two meters high. In his hands he holds a Valencian farmer’s blanket, a handkerchief knotted around his neck, and the paint tools. His face is a faithful reflection of the image of the painter.
Located in the square of the same name, where his Birth House falls. The work was directed by the municipal architects, Román Jimenez and Emilio Rieta.
Fountain built in Xàbia stone, centered with the image of the Saint, with a crucifix in one hand and a book in the other, bronze work by the sculptor Vicente Rodilla.
The work of Miquel Navarro; The Public Fountain, the official name with which the popular ‘Pink Panther‘ was inaugurated, was inaugurated in September 1984 at the southern entrance of the city.
It is the first public work carried out by the natural sculptor from Mislata, who won the National Prize for Plastic Arts in 1986.
According to the author, this sculpture may recall the Roman fountains that commemorate the bringing of drinking water from the vicinity of Rome to the center of the city, although he acknowledges that the vast majority saw in it the mythical fictional character. The work, which was originally red, was restored in 1997 due to its deterioration, being painted pink on one of the occasions to, finally, return red original.
Its symbolism is based on the resurgence of the city after the flood of 1957. The local press, given the abstract nature of the sculpture, reported with these words on the meaning of the work: “offers a current version of the famous Samothracian Nike. With the characteristic technique, this prestigious artist has formed a new form and modes of sculpture: the iron part represents the thorax with its wing, and the pedestal, which for the first time forms a continuous part of the statue, the legs and the hip in an attitude of advancing, thus symbolizing the victorious revival of Valencia after the flood of 1957”.
On November 21, 1997, it was agreed to award by contract to Marbles Valmar S.L. to supply the limestone of the land necessary for the restoration of the base of the monument.
The author of the work is Antonio Sacramento.
