Antoni Llena’s Chicken Wire Tribute to Castellers

Located in Plaça de Sant Miquel behind Barcelona’s City Hall, this unusual 26.5m high stainless steel tower by Antoni Llena i Font was unveiled in 2012 during the Feast of Santa Eulalia.

The statue is titled Homenatge als Castellers and is a tribute to the emblematic human towers which are a traditional feature of public events in Catalonia.

Close up of the chicken wire statue in plaça de Sant Miquel showing how the stainless steel pipes which make up the statue are twisted together.
Homenatge als Castellers by Antoni Llena i Font

In an interview with Spanish newspaper El País published shortly after the sculpture was built, LLena said that instead of creating a figurative representation, he took inspiration from chicken wire and the nets which are sometimes used to wrap bottles.

My understanding is that each of the X-shaped sections of chicken wire represents a person. The tower is made up of six layers, each of which gets progressively smaller. This echoes the fact that in the real human towers the lower layers are formed by men, the middle layers by women and teenagers and the upper levels by children. The unattached tubes at the top of the sculpture bring to mind the outstretched arm of the enxaneta or small child who tops the tower.

About the Artist

Artist, sculptor and author Antoni Llena i Font was born in Barcelona in 1943, his best known work is the statue David i Goliat which stands in Plaça dels Voluntaris near Barcelona seafront.

The giant chickenwire statue in Barcelona's Gothic Quarter
The 26.5m high Hommage to Castellers in Plaça de Sant Miquel, Barcelona

Location

Plaça de Sant Miquel, Barcelona

How to get there

Plaça de Sant Miguel is in Barcelona’s Gothic Quarter. The nearest metro stations are Jaume I on the yellow line (L4) and Liceu on the green line (L3).

Other attractions nearby

Map

Plaça de Sant Miquel, Barcelona

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