Monument to the Heroes of Iquique, Naval memorial in Plaza Sotomayor, Valparaíso, Chile.

The Monument to the Heroes of Iquique stands in the centre of Plaza Sotomayor, between the Prat dock and the Navy Commander-in-Chief building. A statue of Arturo Prat crowns the top; a second level holds figures of Ignacio Serrano, Ernesto Riquelme, Juan de Dios Aldea and a generic sailor. Reliefs on the four sides show the naval battles of Iquique, Punta Gruesa, Angamos and Arica with their dates, and a garden and iron fence surround the base.

The monument was erected in 1886 to honor Chilean sailors who died during the Battle of Iquique in the War of the Pacific. This event shaped Chile's understanding of courage and naval strength in the 1800s.

The monument's front and rear carry the inscriptions "A sus heroes martyres" (sic) and "La Patria reconocida". Each 21 May, the date of the 1879 battles, the square hosts naval commemorations; the first floral tribute in 1886 was a large gilded anchor placed by the Valparaíso Fire Department.

The monument stands in the middle of Plaza Sotomayor, between the Prat dock and the Navy Commander-in-Chief building, so it is reached on foot from the port edge. The statues sit on a raised base ringed by a garden and an iron fence, and the sculpted reliefs and inscriptions face outward on the four sides of the main body.

Beneath the structure lies a vault holding the remains of several naval heroes including Commander Prat and other officers from the battle. This underground burial place often goes unnoticed by visitors who only see the visible monument above.