Gate of the Catalan Countries, Corten steel arch monument in Salses-le-Château, France
The Gate of the Catalan Countries is a work by sculptor Emili Armengol: a broad arch of Corten steel, its face a deep rust-brown, pierced by four tall rounded openings in stainless steel that leave three pillars between them and one at each end. It stands on a paved slab surface in Salses, Pyrénées-Orientales.
The monument was designed by sculptor Emili Armengol and officially inaugurated in 2003 after several construction delays. Its completion marked a new expression of Catalan presence at the French border.
The monument takes the form of the arched portal of a Catalan farmhouse, built in Corten steel, with four vertical cuts in stainless steel set like the gaps between the fingers of a hand, an allusion to the four bars of the Catalan senyera. The cuts are oriented to let in winds from every direction of the compass rose, meant to express openness to people and cultures from anywhere. Seen from above, the whole volume recalls a sickle, referring to Els Segadors.
The structure sits directly beside the main road and is easily visible from the roadway. Visitors can stop to view the monument up close, though the proximity to traffic should be kept in mind during a visit.
The monument stands at a geographically symbolic location where Catalan identity meets the French border region. Many visitors fail to recognize that the entire shape viewed from above forms a Catalan symbol.
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