La Estatua de la República (Statue of the Republic), 3rd largest indoor statue in the world (behind the Great Buddha of Nara and Lincoln Memorial) She is 46 feet tall, weighs 49 tons, and is covered in 22-karat gold leaf. Angelo Zanelli cast the bronze in Rome in three pieces, which were later assembled inside the capitol building. A Creole Cuban, Lily Valty served as the model for the body for Zanelli, and the inspiration for the statue came from Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom.