From 1905 to 1907, the Committee on the Rizal Monument organized an international design competition, inviting sculptors from Europe and the United States to participate in the event.
Forty entries were received by the 1907 deadline, and the bozetos (scale models) of the shortlisted ten were displayed at the Ayuntamiento in Intramuros, Manila. Upon deliberation, the committee declared Carlos Nicoli's Al Martir de Bagumbayan (To the Martyr of Bagumbayan), an ornate neoclassical piece, the winner of the design competition.
The contract, however, was ultimately awarded to Swiss sculptor Richard Kissling for his bozeto titled Motto Stella (Guiding Star), which had won second place. According to Parks for a Nation, “Nicoli was reportedly not able to put up the construction bond required to build the monument. Still others claimed his design was deemed too expensive as it used Carrara marble.” Kissling's design, which would use unpolished granite and bronze, naturally cost less than that of Nicoli’s, a predominantly marble structure.
To commemorate the martyrdom of Dr. José Rizal, we reimagine a Minecraft recreation of the first prize-winning monument, Al Martir de Bagumbayan, designed by Carlos Nicoli of Carrara, Italy.
by Orions455