Let Cybele or the Bear and the Strawberry Tree move away, because the most impressive statue in Spain is none other than that of the god Neptune. And no, we are not referring to the one in the center of Madrid, but rather the one that is in the middle of the sea, battered by the waves and tides, as if emerging from the depths.
This statue of Neptune is located in the municipality of Telde, in Gran Canaria, and is one of the best-known sculptures in the world. They know it as 'the Neptune of Melenara' because of the volcanic sand beach where it has been located since 2001, when the Canarian sculptor Luis Arencibia Betancort inaugurated it.
BenyAguiar via X.
On calm days, this bronze Roman god stands impassively at 6 meters high – trident included – above the blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean. However, in the season of storms or strong winds, the waves surround him and pass over him, leaving an image incomparable to any other statue in the world.
It is so exposed that in 2010 it lost an arm and trident in a storm and had to be restored. And its beauty lies in that extreme location, reflecting the deep relationship between the island and the sea, becoming an emblem of the Gran Canaria coastline.
