Fountain by Cornelio Balbo - Cadiz - Andalusia

The statue in the fountain near the roundabout is a replica of the statue of Ubriqueño José Fernández Guerrero , the original of which is in the Mayor's Hall of the City Council of Cadiz, dating from the late 18th century.

Dressed in a patrician toga, he carries in his left hand a scroll of parchment , symbolizing his role as lawgiver , and under his feet a ram's head and spear , symbolizing his role as warrior .

Lucius Cornelius Balbus the Younger was born in 80 BC. born at Gades; it is not known when he died. He was Balbo the Elder's cousin, and as they shared the same name, one was called the Elder and the other the Younger.

The Balbo family were one of the oldest families in Gades, descendants of the first Phoenicians who founded Gadir. Balboa the Elder, a close friend of Julius Caesar , becomes the first non-Italian-born consul in Rome. Thanks to his uncle's position, Balbus the Younger had an easier life. He became one of the most important Roman generals of his time, thanks in part to his bravery, which was difficult for someone born outside of Italy, and also outside of the patrician elite that controlled Roman politics.

He began fighting in Egypt on the orders of his uncle's friend, Julius Caesar, when he "entangled" with Cleopatra, the pharaoh.

With the spoils of war in Africa, he amassed such a fortune that, like his uncle, he financed the expansion and renovation of his native city, the Neapolis of Gades. We owe the Roman theater, the circus, the aqueduct, etc. to their money.

He had his autobiography performed in the theater and was touched when he saw his friend Julius Caesar, who had just been murdered. He is also said to have an actor executed for being too ugly.

Willem Vandenameele