Did you know? The Rizal Monument in Luneta is not the original design

Did you know that the Rizal Monument in Luneta Park was not the original design of the statue?

According to Kuya Kim’s “24 Oras” report on Friday, the United States Philippine Commission held a competition to get a design for the monument from 1905 to 1907.

The first place went to “Al Martir de Bagumbayan” or “To the Martyr of Bagumbayan” made by Carlo Nicoli. In the design, the monument stood 18 meters tall.

“Ang orihinal na design nito ay marmol lahat. Ang marmol ay galing sa Carrara, Italy. Ang problema ay mahal, hindi aabot talaga yung budget na PHP 100,000, so he backed out,” history Prof. Jose Torres said.

“Napilitan ang kumite ibigay ngayon ang second prize na Motto Stella na ngayon ay nakatayo na sa Luneta o Rizal Park,” he added.

The Motto Stella, who was given the second prize, was made by Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling.

Eager to see what Luneta would have looked like if the “Al Martir de Bagumbayan” pushed through, a junior architect named Johnne Maniego reimagined it through a 3D design software.

“Halos wala pong surviving documents, so nag-base lang din ako sa pictures kung paano ko siya gawin. Ginawa ko siya sa isang architecture software in a span of three days,” he said.

The Rizal Monument is one of the most important venues in “Maria Clara at Ibarra,” which was inspired by Rizal’s novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo.”—Franchesca Viernes/LDF, GMA Integrated News