The Torico de Teruel was not supplanted in the Civil War

• Controversy El Torico de Teruel could be false

• Accident The emblematic Fuente del Torico de Teruel collapses

The breaking of the Torico de Teruel when it fell from its pedestal on Sunday 19 has revealed

that exist about such an emblematic sculpture.

To such an extent that an exhaustive study is going to be carried out on its origin, history and composition, and a bronze replica is going to be made while the broken one is being restored.

Once it has been verified that it is made of cast iron and not bronze as had always been believed,

one or if it is a copy or replica.

A report from the Teruel Museum, commissioned by the municipal architect in 1994 to assess the state of conservation of the sculpture, maintains that the current Torico has

, the year of the first photograph.

That is, the one that was already there before the Civil War and was not made of bronze, which contradicts the hypothesis that it was changed during the war.

has echoed

, was accompanied by a proposal for intervention.

A municipal services crane was used to observe the piece.

The study was handed over to the City Council although at that time nothing was done about the sculpture.

The intervention was carried out nine years later, in

, when the base or foot of the sculpture was made new, although the Museum only intervened because the treatment that was being given was not adequate.

Image of the celebration in Teruel, minutes before the Torico fell, on June 19. Antonio GarcíaEFE

The report details that the material from which it is made is

and in that analysis traces of green paint were observed.

For its manufacture, pieces were detected on the chest and on both sides of the skirt and it was considered that a more direct examination had to be carried out to delve into the manufacturing system.

To prepare this report, the Museum went to historical documents and found none that directly mentioned when the Torico was installed in the current fountain.

The fountain that was located closest to the Tozal was from

and it is known that it still existed in the 18th century with a gilt bronze bull with a star on its antlers.

This description made by an anonymous author has transcended time and until today in the collective imagination it was still believed that this is the material of the bull in the bullring, even if it is in another location.

It is not known when the bull was placed in the current fountain for the first time,

, when it was built.

The

comes from the year 1909 in a photograph by Jaime Fernández Fuertes on the occasion of the Day of the Heifer, where the Torico looks to the south.

In 1932 a project was carried out that sought to suppress the fountain but it was finally maintained in a new work that was delivered on July 27, 1933.

El Torico in the Civil War

From the Civil War the image of the Torico is preserved, lowered from his column and next to some soldiers.

The 1994 report considers that

and the same one that could be seen in 1969 in the Town Hall while some works were being carried out.

According to the aforementioned study, the state of conservation that it presented 28 years ago was that of a healthy metallic nucleus and "apparently" the matter was compact.

The surface showed a green coating, with blue traces in some places.

The coating must have protected him for a long time.

"Surely with its application it was intended to give

when it is covered by a patina that owes its color to the corrosion products of copper," the report from the Teruel Museum indicates.

In the "abundant" areas where this patina does not appear,

is identified .

The texture is irregular and in the area located on the back of the bull the metal core was exposed to the elements.

In 1994 it was found that

significant corrosion processes, so its state of conservation was considered to be good given the unstable nature of the iron.

The report was provisional and a more in-depth review was considered essential.

It was warned that the coexistence of protected areas and clean metal surfaces could trigger corrosion.

For its treatment, the report from the Teruel Museum recommended

and dry corrosion products, degreasing, applying an inhibitor to reduce the risks of corrosion, drying and protection by applying acrylic resin and wax.

NO BIC BUT YES PROTECTION

Although

on an individual basis, the Torito is protected within the Historic Site of Teruel.

And, for this reason,

on the occasion of the Rope Bull Congress, something that was not done and, according to reports from the City Council, was what caused the column to fall, which it snapped in two, and the sculpture that broke off all four legs and one horn.

The general director of Patrimony of the Government of Aragon, Mari Sancho Menjón, recognized that, after what happened, "the possibility of initiating a file for his individual protection is valued".

"In principle, it would not have occurred to us. A BIC statement is not a label on a monument to say: You are important, but rather a means of protecting the property and ensuring its safeguarding. Given that this has not served to guarantee its integrity because it was already sufficiently protected, we understood, as an element that is part of the Historical Complex, because perhaps it is necessary to evaluate, as has happened on other occasions, individualized protection".

The municipal opposition groups have called on the mayor, Emma Buej, to assume political responsibilities and even the PSOE has called for her resignation.

THE IMAGE OF TERUEL

In the 16th century,

, a city that owes its name to "land of the bull", according to Vidal Muñoz, the city's official chronicler.

That Torico was replaced, as well as its location, in 1858, but the symbolism was maintained.

For the people of Teruel, the Torico is like the Cibeles fountain for the people of Madrid or the Eiffel Tower for the Parisians.

The square that is officially called Carlos Castel is known by all as

, it is the nerve center of the city, where all kinds of celebrations and events take place.

The fountain on which the little bull stands,

, from tail to mouth;

and 37 centimeters high, from the base to the pythons of its antlers, it was built in the 16th century.

First, a lower one was built, also with four columns from which four water fountains appear and on which a small bull is placed.

"As the carriages could not pass, in 1858 the Teruel City Council decided to move it to its current location.

, who raises the column and with four heads where the water comes out, which are not the ones that currently exist The column is built seven meters high and the sculpture of the bull is placed on top of it. Documentation from the time says that it is made of bronze, but we were greatly surprised to see that it is made of iron", according to Vidal Muñoz

In February 1938, during the Civil War, the Francoist army arrived in the city and "the column withstands the bombing, and the Torico is lowered and placed on some planks. In addition, we know that the Gómez Cordobés family keeps it and, once once the conflict is over, it is placed again on top of the column", according to the chronicler of the city of Teruel.

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