Monument to Artigas, Bronze monument in Plaza Independencia, Montevideo, Uruguay

The Monument to Artigas is a bronze equestrian statue erected above a mausoleum in Plaza Independencia. The structure contains an underground chamber housing the remains of General Jose Gervasio Artigas.

Italian sculptor Angelo Zanelli created this memorial in 1923 using design elements that symbolize independence and freedom. The structure was built to honor the General who played a central role in Uruguay's formation as a nation.

The bronze frieze around the pedestal, nearly two metres high, depicts the people of the Éxodo Oriental, the 1811 exodus of Artigas' followers. The equestrian figure above holds the Instrucciones del Año XIII in his right hand and the reins in his left, wearing a poncho. The mausoleum below, inaugurated in 1977, holds his remains.

The mausoleum lies beneath the monument, reached by stairs on either side of the pedestal. Two guards of the Blandengues regiment keep watch over the burial chamber. The underground room was remodelled between 2010 and 2012, and the monument stands at the centre of Plaza Independencia, where the old Ciudadela once stood.

The underground mausoleum was ordered in September 1974; Artigas's remains had been removed from the National Pantheon of the Central Cemetery in 1972 and were carried to the plaza on 19 June 1977. The chamber was remodelled between 2010 and 2012. The monument stands where the Ciudadela of Montevideo, demolished in 1877, once stood.