Obelisk of Port Vendres
The Port Vendres Obelisk
The obelisk erected in 1783 in the center square of Port Vendres commemorates the accomplishments of King Louis XVI. Port Vendres is a deepwater seaport on the southwestern coast of the French Mediterranean. In the 1770's, Comte de Mailly, Lieutenant General of the province of Roussillon, envisioned the potential of new Port Vendres, with a magnificent expanded seaport open to all nations, and under the protection of Louis XVI. Mailly obtained the King’s permission to build a royal square with a dedicated obelisk at its center.
Mailly commissioned Charles De Wailly, architect and painter to the king to build a hundred-foot high pink and white marble obelisk, crowned by a globe of the earth and topped by a fleur-de-lis, symbolizing to all nations that Port Vendres is under the protection of the King of France. At the base of the obelisk monument are four bronze reliefs representing the principal achievements during the reign of Louis XVI. The bas-reliefs represent the abolition of serfdom, free trade, the rebuilding of the French Navy, and the Independence of America.
The last plaque represents the King’s ship, La Sensible arriving in Casco Bay, Maine on April 12, 1778. Four allegorical trophies representing Africa, Asia, Europe and America stand at the four corners of the monument. Classified as an historic monument in 1920, it is one of only two royal squares in France dedicated to Louis XVI and the only royal square with a monument in France paying homage to American Independence.
