6 Mar 2015. <ES> Madrid —
Back into Madrid today, mainly for the
Palacio Real. On the way out of the camping area, noticed a wattle in full bloom! We took the train into
Puerta del Sol, which was as lively as ever, with living statues cropping up all over the place. Spring is starting to show its face, and the flower beds round the fountains have been planted with cyclamen. Elsewhere we found plantings of ornamental cabbages, which are apparently fairly popular here in Spain.
Panorama of the Palace
We then walked down Calle Mayor to Calle Bailén and the Palace. This palace is still the official residence for the Spanish Royal Family, but is only really used for state ceremonies. Following a disastrous fire, which destroyed the previous palace (the old Alcázar) in 1734, a new palace was constructed entirely of stone and brick, so that the same disaster would not happen again. The whole has a light grey appearance, and balances beautifully the Catedral de la Alumedena, a more recent construction sited across its front, opposite the parade ground.
Montezuma
Carlos IV
The front facade bears statues of Spanish kings, but also those of the last Inca king, Atahualpa, and the last Aztec king, Montezuma. When you go inside, the first thing you see is a magnificent staircase, presided over by a seated statue of Carlos IV as a Roman Emperor. In the ceiling above it is a superb painting by Corrado Giaquinto,
Religion protected by Spain — this is but a hint at the magnificence of the ceilings throughout the palace.
Once beyond the staircase photography is unfortunately forbidden, so we've tried to find a few pictures to illustrate our experience inside the palace.
One of the most amazing things inside is the Spanish Quartet, a matched string quartet (2 violins, 1 viola,1 violoncello) ordered by King Carlos II from Antonio Stradivari in 1696 and 1709. He died before they were delivered and his successor Felipe V declined to buy them, but Carlos IV finally bought them in Rome in 1775.
All four instruments are matched, and bear the same inlay design around the trim of the front face. As for their value — a single Stradivarius without provenance is worth between 1 and 4 million euros — with provenance, much more. The value of this matched set, with full (and royal) provenance is estimated around 100 million euros! Apparently, when the four instruments are played (and they are, on occasion) it sounds like a dozen instruments! And in another case in the same room is another Stradivarius violoncello which is reputed to be the best one he ever made!
Another amazing part of the palace is the Royal Armory, which contains the most incredible collection of armour you could ever see!
And, on the parade ground kids were being kids — whatever age they might be!
Anyway, after a few hours in the Palace, we left and went to the building in front of it — the
Santa María la Real de La Almudena (the Catedral de la Alumedena). This is a recent construction, only begun in 1879, and only consecrated by Pope John Paul II in 1993. The interior is very modern, a refreshing change from all the more traditional interiors we have been visiting — except, of course, for La Sagrada Família! The 16th-century image of the
Virgen de la Almudena
has been moved from its earlier place in the crypt to a position in one of the transepts, making this transept more significant perhaps than the main nave. There was a regular procession of people mounting the steps to pay their respects!
Learned something here — the weird triangular halo
is sometimes used for "God, the Father",
in acknowledgement of the Trinity!
From the cathedral we walked a little further north, to Plaza de España, where there is a wonderful monument to
Miguel de Cervantes. This is a pillar with statues of Cervantes, of
Don Quixote and Sancho Panza, of other characters in the book, and is capped with a representation of people from all continents reading the book. It's also a very popular place for people to come and enjoy the sunshine — and we have been blessed with sunny weather the whole time we've been in Spain!
By this time our feet were beginning to cry out "¡No mas!", so we made our way back to the comfort of the van, dropping in on an Italian gelateria for refreshment on the way!
Distance driven — today, nil; to date, 15,032 miles ( 24,192 km )
Hi. It's no wonder the migrants here look down on those of us who believe ours is the greatest civilization isn't it? Theirs goes back for centuries and leaves our great works and structures in their wake does it not? It would all become a blur for me. Almost too much for the short term memory to imbibe, so lots of it won't lay down in the long-term, without this wonderful blog record you are keeping. I wonder what sort of money all these master craftsmen earned in their day? Probably not one peso more than could be prised out of the coffers of their reluctant sponsors. The climate is similar to ours it would seem with the horticultural evidence you provide. Anyway its good that they revere the works with their enduring quality today, Keep on keeping on, Cheers, Cathy
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