We will find the most important urban civil monument of the 19th century in the centre of the Plaza de la Merced; it was designed by the city architect Rafael Mitjana in honour of General Torrijos.

This funerary monument was erected in memory of José María Torrijos and 48 of his companions who were shot on the beach of San Andrés by order of Ferdinand VII (1784 – 1833). Initially they wanted to erect the monument where they were put to death but they decided to use the Plaza de Riego, as the square was formerly known at that time, instead.

The base or pedestal of the monument was used as a crypt where the remains of these defenders of freedom now rest. The monument consists of two parts, the first of them with dedications and the second with the names of the deceased. An obelisk decorated with a bronze laurel wreath and another one at the top of the pyramid complete the monument.

Its construction was funded by popular donations and raffles. A fact that is worth noting about the Monument to Torrijos is that the upper block of stone was slightly displaced by the earthquake of 1884. This was not put right during the restoration as it was considered part of the history of the city.

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