Spain’s Supreme Court has ordered the heirs of former dictator Francisco Franco to return two religious statues to the city of Santiago, concluding a years-long legal dispute over their ownership.
The two pieces, depicting biblical figures Isaac and Abraham, date back to the 12th century and were originally produced as decorative elements for the Portico of Glory, an entrance to the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, a UNESCO World Heritage site.
The decision stated that the sculptures were removed sometime in the mid-20th century under Franco’s administration and acquired by the city in 1948. Sometime in the early 1950s, city officials arranged for the statues to be relocated to Meirás Palace, the politician’s summer residence, at the request of Franco’s wife.
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According to the ruling, the transfer was facilitated by the city’s mayor at the time, but the maneuver wasn’t done legally, the court said. After Franco’s death in 1975, his descendants inherited the statues and then held on to them private for decades.
The court determined the statues remain the legal property of the city. The family disputed the city’s ownership, claiming the works had been purchased by their relatives through an antique dealer in 1954. Legal representatives for the family maintain the sale’s detail were never documented.
Before the dispute began, the Spanish newspaper El País reported in 2018 that the statues were, at that time, held by Pristina SL, a real estate company owned by Franco’s grandson, Francis Franco.