El viaje que cambió León

Monumento a Guzmán el Bueno. De la dispersión patrimonial a la exaltación monumental (1863-1900)

Abstract

Jorge Martínez Montero, El viaje que cambió León: Monumento a Guzmán el Bueno. De la dispersión patrimonial a la exaltación monumental (1863-1900), León: Editorial MIC, 2021. The book, the result of more than six years of research in archives and libraries, offers a comprehensive study of León's urban and heritage transformation during the nineteenth century, organized around the process of creating the monument to Alonso Pérez de Guzmán el Bueno. The work examines three main axes: the hygienic and urban reforms of the nineteenth-century city, the role of cultural institutions in safeguarding León's artistic heritage, and the complex genesis of the commemorative monument designed by sculptor Aniceto Marinas and architect Gabriel Abreu. The reviewer considers the work a meritorious and illuminating reference that lays the groundwork for future research on art and urbanism in León.