Fate of Franco's Valley of Fallen reopens Spain wounds In the
hills outside Madrid there is a striking symbol of four decades
of dictatorship. The Valley of the Fallen is the vast monument
General Francisco Franco commissioned to commemorate his victory
in the Spanish Civil War. Seventy-five years after that war
began, there are finally plans to change this landmark. At its
heart is an enormous basilica, scooped out of the hillside.
Franco himself is buried behind the altar, beneath a gravestone
decorated with fresh flowers. The Valley has long been a
rallying point for the far right in Spain, built to exalt the
armed nationalist uprising Franco led against the elected
Republican government, his "glorious crusade". Now the Socialist
government is considering exhuming the dictator's remains in
order to transform the site into a place of
reconciliation.'Prudence' Even 36 years after Franco died the
government minister in charge admits that is a delicate task.
"Spain's transition to democracy was an act of prude