Amongst the many things that make A Coruna a very livable, human-centric city (are you listening Brussels), is the wonderful Paseo Marítimo. A nine kilometre-long promenade that runs around the city’s headland with views over the Gulf of Ártabro, as well as refreshing blasts of sea air. At Punta Herminia, the city’s most northerly point, you can watch ships departing A Coruna with the dramatic backdrop of the Galician coastline all the way to Cabo Prior.
The headland where Punta Herminia pokes out into the chilly Atlantic waters is a public green space with cycling and walking routes, and is also home to a fabulous sculpture park. Seeing all the sculptures requires you to do a fair bit of exercise, but it is such a beautiful area that it’s worth all the effort. To get there, we walked from the main city beach, Praia de Orzán, to the Praia das Lapas, a gorgeous sliver of sand in a small cove.
Perched on the cliffs behind Praia das Lapas, is Torre de Hércules, or Tower of Hercules. The oldest continuously working lighthouse in the world is dramatically framed by the blue Atlantic water, golden sand of the beach and the rugged terrain of the 57 metre high cliffs of Punta Eiras, the rocky hill it stands upon. It was built by the Romans in the 2nd century in honour of Emperor Trajan, who ruled between 98 and 117 AD.
Although it was restored in 1788 by order of King Charles IV of Spain, and the exterior reflects that, the interior is mostly Roman. It really is quite a sight, as well as being an UNESCO World Heritage site. I left one half of our party at the beach and set off towards the lighthouse passing two sculptures, the totem-like Pentacephalic Menhir and a group of four statues called Artabrians.
Just below the lighthouse three metal sculptures were seemingly embedded in the earth. Called Guardians, they represent the three heads of the mythical giant Geryon who had a role in the Labours of Hercules when he stole some oxen. I clambered past them to the tower, from where there is a view over the whole headland. From here I could see what is perhaps the most dramatic of the sculptures silhouetted against the ocean: Caracola.
It looked like a giant horn that might be blown at the sight of invading ships appearing on the horizon, but it is in fact the shell of an enormous mollusc. Seeing it was one thing, reaching it was a 20 minute walk along the coastal path. It sits on the very end of a rocky outcrop on Punta Herminia and is subjected to the full force of the ocean when storms sweep across this coast.
It’s a stunning artwork as much for its location as for its form. A little further around the headland is the Sun Chariot, a sculpture that also played a role in the Labours of Hercules. In order to capture the giant Geryon’s oxen, Hercules borrows the chariot the sun used every night to travel to the west. Nearby is Hercules in the Argonauts’ Ship, a stone sculpture representing the search for the Golden Fleece.
Still further around the coast are three wonderfully atmospheric sculptures. Menhirs is a group of twelve stone pillars that look like something the Druids might have left behind, while the Monument to Those Executed by Firing Squad During the Civil War looks a lot like a mini Stonehenge. The Campo da Rata or Rat Field, where it sits is where many people were executed during the dictatorship of Francisco Franco.
Most surprising of all is the Muslim Cemetery or House of Words sitting on the edge of the ocean. North African soldiers who died fighting for Franco in the Spanish Civil War were buried here. They were repatriated to their home countries and the cemetery became a memorial, the House of Words. Strolling back, I came across a statue of Breogan, a Celtic king whom legend claims founded the Kingdom of Galicia.
If you’re ever in A Coruna, make the trip out to the Torre de Hércules and the sculpture park, it is absolutely beautiful.
