The Arch of Triumph of Carabobo, or simply the Arco de Carabobo is a historical monument located on the Campo de Carabobo alley in the suburbs of Valencia.
It is a representative monument of federal significance, linked to a momentous era in the life of Venezuela.
On the site of today’s memorial alley, there was a battle of Carabobo that took place in June 1821 and became a watershed event in the struggle for Venezuelan independence. Here, Spanish troops under Marshal Miguel de la Torre and the army of Simon Bolívar clashed. The battle ended with a Republican victory, and as a result, Venezuelan independence was consolidated.
The monument was unveiled on 24 June 1921, during the reign of General Juan Vicente Gómez. On his orders, several monuments to the heroes of national independence were erected in this area as a sign of gratitude.
The arch was designed by Venezuelan architect Alejandro Chataing and engineer Ricardo Razetti. Razetti’s shared the work with engineer Manuel Vicente Hernández. The arch construction took three months.
The monument consists of two 28-meter high columns, which unite a triumphal arch with inscriptions symbolizing peace and victory. Each of the columns is crowned with a 2.20-meter-diameter sphere, each with 3.50-meter-high figures symbolizing the cities of La Paz (northern column) and La Victoria (southern column).
In the lower part of the columns, there are four reliefs on the eastern and western sides, topped with medallions. High reliefs depict the scenes of the Battle of Carabobo and its leaders – Simon Bolívar, the leader of the Spanish Revolutionary War in America, and José Antonio Paez, the hero of the Venezuelan independence struggle.
The 10-meter arch is a peculiar bridge symbolizing the army; the central part of the arch represents the Republic. In the vicinity of the building, there are other monuments, statues, and memorial sites that were placed over the period from 1921 to 1936.