This monument, created by the artist Acisclo Manzano, was inaugurated on November 30, 2003, to commemorate the bicentenary of the Real Expedición Filantrópica de la Vacuna, led by Dr. Francisco Xavier Balmis, whose mission was to bring the smallpox vaccine to Spain’s overseas territories.
The sculpture is located in the port of A Coruña, the very place from which the expedition set sail on November 30, 1803, aboard the corvette María Pita.
Made of stone, the monument depicts the nurse Isabel Zendal Gómez protecting two young boys from the wind and the waves. These two children symbolize the young boys who carried the vaccine to ensure its preservation during the voyage.
Beneath the sculpture there is a plaque on which the following can be read:
EXPEDICIÓN FILANTRÓPICA DA VACINA DO / DR BALMIS / (1803-2003) ESTE MONUMENTO FOI INAUGURADO POLO / EXCMO. SR. D. MANUEL FRAGA IRIBARNE, / PRESIDENTE DA XUNTA DE GALICIA, SENDO ALCALDE DA CORUÑA / O EXCMO. SR. D. FRANCISCO VÁZQUEZ VÁZQUEZ, / EN HOMENAXE Ó POBO DA CORUÑA E ÓS SEUS / FILLOS, QUE FIXERON POSIBLE ESTA IMPORTANTE / XESTA SANITARIA / EN BENEFICIO DE TODA A HUMANIDADE / A CORUÑA, 30 DE NOVEMBRO DE 2003
Philanthropic Expedition of the Vaccine of / Dr Balmis / (1803–2003) This monument was inaugurated by / His Excellency Mr. Manuel Fraga Iribarne, / President of the Xunta de Galicia, both Mayor of Coruña and Francisco Vázquez Vázquez, / in tribute to the people of Coruña and his / children, who made this important / health event possible for the benefit of all humanity / A Coruña November 30, 2003
- Photos and main text by Sabela Nóvoa Gómez moc.liamg|im9211ebas#| (December 2025)
- Locate the item on this Google Map
Bibliography:
- Asensi Botet, F. (2012). Fighting against smallpox around the world. The vaccination expeditions of Xavier de Balmis (1803–1806) and Josep Salvany (1803–1810). Contributions to Science, 8(1), 99–105