In the Montero Ríos gardens, this sculpture, known as the octopus, is actually a sculpture dedicated to Jules Verne. The well-known French writer dedicated a chapter to “the Bay of Vigo” in Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea where Captain Nemo’s submarine, the Nautilus, enters the Vigo Estuary to rescue Rande’s treasures. Nemo tells Aronnax, his prisoner, the Battle of Rande and in 1702. Finally, the divers find the chests with gold and silver while describing the underwater breathing apparatus and lamps that are the same as those that were released for the rescue of Rande’s treasures at the time Verne wrote his novel.
Who Put It There?
The Association of Women Entrepreneurs of Pontevedra commissioned the bronze sculpture from the Vigo artist José Morales when it was 100 years since Verne’s death in 2005.
Did Verne visit Vigo?
Yes, up to two times. Although after writing his famous novel. Verne visited the city on board the Saint Michel III yacht from June 1 to 4, 1878. He visited the Christ of Victory procession and the Reconquest, which was then held in June, and also visited the Collegiate Church of Santa María. On Sunday, June 2, he finally knows the cove of San Simón, which was the scene of 20,000 leagues under the sea. His second visit, six years later, was again accidental (the first was due to a storm) by a mechanical breakdown at Saint Michel III. On Monday, May 19, 1884, the French writer describes his entry into the estuary contemplating the Cíes Islands, and he had the opportunity to have a coffee in the Constitución place. The next day he goes up to the O Castro fortress. This is the route that thousands of tourists make to our city each year, a connection to the past that Vigo, knowing, shows us with different eyes.
