A sprawling mass of metal (63metres long and 17metres tall) which originally adorned the rompeolas in the harbour of Barcelona .

In 1960 Le Port De Barcelona accepted to finance the great project of Salvador Aulestia: a colossal guardian of metal, so big that it was the first thing you could see when reaching Barcelona from the sea.

EL SIDEROPLOIDE was completed in three years with the help of a massive team of steel workers. It was created on location: the material employed comes from the carcasses of broken ships, pieces of junk, metal left behind.

Homage to sailors and seamen, el sideroploide is also the teraphim supreme, the magic statue which hints at all the possible futures of the city and citizens alike.

Eaten away by salt and weather, the monument had to be removed for restoration.

Finally restored in 2001, it stands poised on the quay of the golondrinas, ready to guard the city again.