The Picasso gardens were opened in Málaga in 1981 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the artist Pablo Picasso. The layout of the gardens is symmetrical and resembles a flower’s petals. Highlights include centuries-old fig trees and Siéxtasis, a sculpture dedicated to Picasso by Miguel Ortiz Berrocal.

Miguel Ortiz Berrocal (born in Villanueva de Algaidas, Málaga, 28 September 1933, died in Antequera, Málaga, 31 May 2006) was a Spanish figurative and abstract sculptor. and is best known for his puzzle sculptures, which can be disassembled into many abstract pieces.

In 1972, the city of Málaga gave him a commission for a large monument as a tribute to Picasso. In 1976 Monumento a Picasso was exhibited at the Rond-Point of the Champs Élysées in Paris before its final placement in Málaga in 1977.

The sculpture weighs in at eight tons and, inspired by one of Picasso’s works, depicts two faces, one male and one female, in a loving embrace with arms and arteries intertwined around a heart. Siéxtasis is a combination of siesta and éxtasis in case you were wondering.

Picasso’s full name, apparently, was Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso – no wonder he was always introduced as ‘Picasso’…