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Churches

Almudena Cathedral, Catedral de la Almudena

Royal Convent of La Encarnacin (faade)

San Francisco el Grande

Madrid has a considerable number of Catholic churches, some of them are among the

most important Spanish religious artworks.

The oldest church that survives today is San Nicols de los Servitas, whose oldest item

is the bell tower (12th century), in Mudjar style. The next oldest temple is San Pedro el

Real, with its high brick tower.

St. Jerome Church is a gothic church next to El Prado Museum. The Catholic Monarchs

ordered its construction in the 15th century, as part of a vanished monastery. The

monastery's cloister is preserved. It has recently been renovated by Rafael Moneo, with

the goal to house the neoclassical collection of El Prado Museum, and also sculptures

by Leone Leoni andPompeo Leoni.

The Bishop Chapel is a gothic chapel which was built in the 16th century by order ofthe Bishop of Plasencia, Gutierre de Vargas. It was originally built to house the remains

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ofSaint Isidore Laborer(Madrid's patron saint), but it was used as the Vargas family

mausoleum. Inside are the altairpiece and the tombs of the Vargas family, which were

the work of Francisco Giralte, a disciple ofAlonso Berruguete. They are considered

masterpieces of Spanish Renaissance sculpture.

St. Isidore Church from the Plaza Mayor

St. Isidore Church was built between 16201664 by order of Empress Maria of Austria,

daughter ofCharles V of Germany and I of Spain, to become part of a school run by the

Jesuits which still exists today. Its dome is the first example of a dome drawing on a

wooden frame covered with plaster, which, given its lightness makes it easy to supportthe walls. It was the cathedral of Madrid between 1885 and 1993, which is the time it

took to build the Almudena. The artwork inside were mostly burned during the Spanish

Civil War, but it retained the tomb that holds the incorrupt body ofSaint Isidore

Laborerand the urn containing the ashes of his wife Maria Torribia.

Royal Convent of La Encarnacin is an Augustinian Recollect convent. The institution,

which belonged ladies of the nobility, was founded by Queen Margaret of Austria, wife

ofPhilip III of Spain, in the early 17th century. Due to the frescoes and sculptures

which houses is one of the most prominent temples in the city. The building's architect

was Fray Alberto de la Madre de Dios, who built it between 1611 and 1616. The faade

responds to an inspiring Herrerian style, with great austerity,and it was imitated by otherSpanish churches. The church's interior is a sumptuous work by the great Baroque

architectVentura Rodriguez.

In the church are preserved shrines containing the blood ofSt. Januarius and St.

Pantaleon, the second (according to tradition) liquefies every year on the saint's day on

27 July.

San Antonio de los Alemanes (St. Anthony Church) is a pretty 17th-century church

which was originally part of a Portuguese hospital. Subsequently it was donated to the

Germans living in the city.

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The interior of the church has been recently restored. It has some beautiful frescoes

painted by Luca Giordano, Francisco Carreo and Francisco Rizi. The frescoes

represent some kings of Spain, Hungary, France, Germany and Bohemia. They all sit

looking at the paintings in the vault, which represent the life ofSaint Anthony of Padua.

Royal Chapel of St. Anthony of La Florida is sometimes named the "Goya's SistineChapel". The chapel was built on orders of KingCharles IV of Spain, who also

commissioned the frescoes by Goya. These were completed over a six-month period in

1798. The frescoes portray miracles by Saint Anthony of Padua, including one which

occurred in Lisbon, but which the painter has relocated to Madrid. On every 13 June,

the chapel becomes the site of a lively pilgrimage in which young unwed women come

to pray to St. Anthony and to ask for a partner.

San Francisco el Grande Basilicawas built in neoclassical style in the second half of the

18th century by Francesco Sabatini. It has the fifth largest diameter dome to

Christianity. (33 meters in diameter: it's smaller than the dome of the Rome's Pantheon

(43.4meters), St. Peter's Basilica(42.4 meters), the Florence Cathedral (42 meters)andthe Rotunda of Mosta (37.2 meters) in Malta, but it's larger than St. Paul's Cathedral

(30.8 meters) in London and Hagia Sophia (31.8 meters) in Istanbul).

The church is dedicated to St. Francis of Assisi, who according to legend was

established in Madrid during his pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela. Its sumptuous

interior features many artworks, including paintings by Goyaand Zurbarn.

The Cathedral of Santa Mara la Real de la Almudenais the episcopal seat of the

Archdiocese of Madrid. It is a temple of 102 meters long and 73 high, built during the

19th and 20th centuries in a mixture of different styles: neoclassical exterior, neo-

Gothic interior and neo-Romanesque crypt and neo-Byzantine abse's paints.

The cathedral was built in the same place which was built the Moorish citadel (Al-

Mudayna) in Madrid. It was consecrated by Pope John Paul II on his fourth trip to Spain

on 15 June 1993, thus being the only Spanish cathedral dedicated by a pope.

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