The Plaça Porta de Santa Catalina in Palma de Mallorca is a nice and quiet square just as one gets to the Baluard de Sant Pere, now the seat of the Baluard Museu d’Art Modern i Contemporani de Palma.

Until a week or two ago, the square was decorated with a latterly disfunctional fountain which in turn was crowned by a huge obelisk. Now, the obelisk is gone. The vecinos of the Barrio de Puig de Sant Pere considered the obelisk a Franco relict and thus, as quite shameful for its fascist overtones; its removal was requested. The Ajuntament de Palma duly removed the obelisk of shame (see photo above). The base of the fountain was not dismantled; some water cascades will be restored in due course. The square also displays 18 old pine trees which are listed as árboles singulares. The trees will remain in place, even though the trees were also planted upon Franco’s request.

Prior to the obelisk being removed, some activists belonging to a group called Milícia Antifeixista sprayed the fascist monument with red colour, in protest against its historic significance.

During the Franco years, this square was called Plaza Jinetes de Alcalá. In 1941 the obelisk was erected in memory of some military ranks helping Franco with his putsch against the Spanish Segunda Republica; the putsching group was known as the Jinetes de Alcalá.

The Spanish Ley de la Memoria Histórica, passed in 2008, gives local governments and townhalls a legal framework to remove monuments and emblems of a fascist character, as well as to rename streets that were named in honour of Franco and his followers, if the local population so desires.

The photos were taken in Palma de Mallorca, Baleares, Spain. The dates: July 3rd and 7th, 2009. The time was 12:50:53 and 10:15:42, respectively.