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Chocolatiers recreate Guernica - 5th May 2021

Guernica by Pablo Picasso is one of the world's most well known anti-war paintings. Now, a chocolate version of it has been produced, nearly 85 years after the original was painted.

The original image was Picasso's response to the bombing of the town of Guernica in the Basque region of northern Spain. On 26th April 1937, planes from Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy rained down bombs on the town. The attack came in the middle of the Spanish civil war and was the request of Nationalist leader Francisco Franco.

The bombing devastated the town. Hundreds of civilians lost their lives.

Picasso began work on his black and white painting shortly after. It portrays the suffering of innocent civilians during wartime. The powerful image soon became a world famous anti-war symbol.

The destruction of Guernica remains an event of great significance to the Basque people. The 85th anniversary of the bombing is next year, so Basque chocolatiers have worked together to create a full sized copy of Picasso's painting. It measures 7.7 metres by 3.5 metres and is in 3 different kinds of chocolate.

The chocolate Guernica will be displayed in several locations. The town of Guernica will be among them.