Madrid Walking Tour. From Sol to Cibeles

· Puerta del Sol

Current square largely shaped: 1857-1862, during Queen Isabella II.
Medieval “Puerta del Sol” gate in the city wall: 15th century.
Bear and Strawberry Tree statue (“El Oso y el Madroño”) sculptor Antonio Navarro Santafé: 1967.
New Year’s grapes tradition began: 1909.

· Plaza de Isabel II / Opera

Underground fountain/water infrastructure Juan de Ribera Piferrer hydraulic works tradition linked to El Escorial.
Urbanization of the square: around 1835-1850 during Isabella II.

· Plaza de Oriente

Begun under Joseph Bonaparte, completed mainly under Ferdinand VII and Isabella II.
Main design: Narciso Pascual y Colomer.
Developed mainly between 1844-1850.
Equestrian statue of Philip IV: 1640, designed by Pietro Tacca with scientific calculations traditionally attributed to Galileo.

· Cerca de Felipe II / Cerca de Felipe III

Cerca de Felipe II: c. 1566.
Expanded and replaced by Cerca de Felipe III: 1625.
Function: fiscal control and urban boundary.

· Plaza de España

Current urbanization: 1950s.
Recent renovation completed: 2021 (~70 million euros).
Edificio España: 1948-1953.
Torre de Madrid: 1954-1957.
Cervantes Monument: inaugurated 1929 (Architects: Rafael Martínez Zapatero & Pedro Muguruza; sculptures by Lorenzo Coullaut Valera).

· Temple of Debod

Original construction: 2nd century BC.
Dedicated mainly to Amun and Isis
Gifted to Spain in 1968 after Spain helped save Nubian temples threatened by the Aswan High Dam / Abu Simbel project.
Rebuilt in Madrid and opened in 1972.

· National Temple of Saint Teresa of Jesus

Construction began: 1916.
Neo-Gothic / Neo-medieval style.

· Sabatini Gardens

Built: 1930s, opened 1978.
Architect: Fernando García Mercadal.

· Royal Palace

Old Alcázar destroyed by fire: 1734.
Current palace construction: 1738-1755 (main structure).

· Cathedral of Santa María la Real de la Almudena

Construction begun: 1883.
Consecrated: 1993.

· Arab Wall of Madrid

Foundation of Madrid: late 9th century (~860s-880s).
City and wall built under Emir Muhammad I of Córdoba.
Alfonso VI entered Madrid: 1085.
Legend of the Virgin of Almudena apparition linked to this conquest.

· Church of Santa María de la Almudena (original parish)

Medieval church rebuilt mainly in the 15th-16th centuries.
Demolished in 1868 during the revolutionary period (“La Gloriosa- Isabel II”).

· Church of San Nicolás de los Servitas

12th-13th century origins.

· Plaza de la Villa

Casa y Torre de los Lujanes: late 15th century (15th c.)
Casa de Cisneros: 1537 (16th c.)
Casa de la Villa: 1645-1692 (17th c.)

· Convent / Church of Corpus Christi

Founded: 1607.

· Plaza Mayor

built: 1617-1619 by Juan Gómez de Mora.
Central equestrian statue represents King Philip III.

· Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Palacio de Santa Cruz)

Original use: prison and courthouse.
Built: 1629-1643.
Architect: Juan Gómez de Mora.

· Church of Santa Cruz

Current church built: 1889-1902.

· Plaza de Santa Ana

Teatro Español originally: Corral del Príncipe.
Founded: 1583.
Current theater building largely from 1802 onward (after fire), neoclassical style.
Hotel Reina Victoria: 1916-1928.
Bullfighter Dominguín stayed in Room 220.
Hemingway associated Madrid experiences here with The Sun Also Rises and later writings on Spain.

· Convent of Las Trinitarias Descalzas (1606)

· CaixaForum

Original power station: 1899.
Current Herzog & de Meuron remodeling: 2008.

· Prado Museum

Designed: 1785 by Juan de Villanueva.
Original use: Natural Sciences Cabinet.

· Moneo Cube / Prado extension

Extension completed: 2007.

· Church of San Jerónimo el Real

Built mainly late 15th-early 16th century.
Includes restored 17th-century cloister integrated into the Prado extension.
King Alfonso XIII married Victoria Eugenie here in 1906.

· Madrid Stock Exchange (1893)

· Monument to the Fallen for Spain (Plaza de la Lealtad)

Originally inaugurated: 1840.
Honors those killed in the May 2nd 1808 uprising against Napoleon.
Eternal flame and ceremonial urn added in modern commemorative reforms.

· Plaza de Cibeles

Developed mainly late 18th century under Charles III.
Fountain of Cibeles: 1782.
Casa de América (Palacio de Linares): 1877-1900.
Bank of Spain building: begun 1884.
Palacio de Cibeles / Communications Palace: 1907-1919.

· Barrio de Salamanca

Main urban development: second half of the 19th century.

· El Retiro Park

Originally created in the 1630s under Philip IV as part of the Buen Retiro royal palace complex.
Present public park configuration mainly dates from the (18th) 19th century after becoming public property.

· Great Pond Monument (Monument to Alfonso XII, Retiro Park)