The Monumento a la Virgen de la Paz is a colossal statue honoring Mary. Made of concrete with a metal infrastructure, it is located seven miles southwest of the city of Trujillo. The statue is 153 feet tall, designed by the Spanish-Venezuelan sculptor Manuel de la Fuente. It was dedicated on 21 December 1983.
Since 1568 the virgin of Nuestra Señora de la Paz (Our Lady of Peace) has been the spiritual patron of Trujillo; since 1960 she has also been the patron of this diocese. The dove in the statue’s right hand symbolizes the responsibility of the presidency of Venezuela to make peace across the land. A Peace March, which takes place every year during Easter, starts early in the morning from the headquarters of the Catholic Seminary in the city of Trujillo and ends with a mass in the monument’s chapel.
Inside, there are stairs and elevators that give access to several viewpoints distributed throughout its structure. The monument was the idea of then First Lady Betty Urdaneta de Herrera Campins, who was from Trujillo. It cost 9 million bolívares and was initially administered through a private foundation, now by the state of Trujillo.
