Ferdinand Magellan Monument, Punta Arenas

The Magellan monument in Punta Arenas, Chile, stands in the Plaza Munoz Gamero and commemorates Ferdinand Magellan, who in 1520 first navigated the strait that bears his name, linking the Atlantic and Pacific at the southern tip of South America. The bronze statue, dedicated in 1920 to mark the strait’s 400th anniversary, was funded by the wool magnate Jose Menendez and sculpted by Guillermo Cordova. A local tradition holds that kissing or touching the foot of the indigenous figure at its base guarantees a return to Patagonia.