The Generalitat of Valencia has said that it supports the removal of the Cross of the Fallen (la Cruz de los Caídos) in de la plaza de España directly outside outside the church de San Martín even though although it no longer bears Francoist plaques.
The General Directorate of culture and heritage has therefore given the go-ahead for the transfer of the cross to ‘a more appropriate place’. He justified the move by saying that there are a number of technical points that have a negative impact on it remaining in its present location.
One of the main reasons quoted is that it is not in keeping with the style and the architecture of the church.
The cross has long been a focal point for demonstrations organised by Spain’s fascist movement, the Falange (“Phalanx”), who, for many years have demanded that it remains in place in the centre of Callosa del Segura.
However those demonstrations took place while the cross still carried Commemorative engravings and plates in support of the phalanx, removed in 2016, as well as a carving which alluded to José Antonio Primo De Rivera who formed the organisation in 1933.
The Generalitat states that the cross would in future be better situated in the town cemetery.
