Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on June 19, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 23, 2026
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Spain's Supreme Court mandates the Franco family return Romanesque statues to Santiago, emphasizing historical art ownership disputes.
MADRID (Reuters) -Spain's Supreme Court has ruled that the descendants of dictator Francisco Franco must return two valuable Romanesque statues to the northwestern city of Santiago de Compostela, according to a court statement released on Thursday.
The statues were once part of the 12th-century "Door of Glory", a portico marking the entrance to Santiago's cathedral, which is widely considered a masterpiece of mediaeval art and which is where the famed pilgrim Camino (Way) ends.
The works were removed during restoration works on the cathedral's facade and purchased by the city in 1948.
Franco's wife, Carmen Polo, expressed interest in them during a 1952 visit to the city, after which they were sent to the Meiras palace - the dictator's summer residence.
"Motivated by a desire to please the wife of the head of state", Santiago's then-mayor facilitated their transfer to Meiras, the ruling said.
The court decided that despite Franco's family possessing the statues for a long time, they still belonged to the city of Santiago.
Franco's descendants argued that the purchase by the city was never completed and claimed the statues were acquired through an antiquarian, citing an oral account passed down within the family.
Francis Franco, the dictator's grandson, did not reply to a request for comment when contacted by Reuters.
Franco rose to power through a military coup against the Republican government in July 1936 and ruled the country for almost 40 years, until his death in 1975. Fifty years later, his legacy still divides Spanish society.
(Reporting by Emma PinedoEditing by Frances Kerry)
The Supreme Court ruled that the descendants of Francisco Franco must return two valuable Romanesque statues to the city of Santiago de Compostela.
The statues were part of the 12th-century 'Door of Glory', which is considered a masterpiece of medieval art and marks the entrance to Santiago's cathedral.
Franco's wife expressed interest in the statues during a visit in 1952, leading to their transfer to the Meiras palace, facilitated by the then-mayor of Santiago.
They claimed that the purchase of the statues by the city was never completed and argued that the statues were acquired through an antiquarian based on an oral account.
Francisco Franco rose to power through a military coup in 1936 and ruled Spain for nearly 40 years until his death in 1975, leaving a legacy that still divides public opinion today.
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