Paris1972-Versailles2003

So I am taking you back in my beloved Spain and one of my favorite spots in all the country. This is royal princely Aranjuez, in the Comunidad of Madrid and only 44 km from Madrid, and we like it. So many nice places to see in addition to the top Palace here (see posts), I like to come back to something more urban and walkable with beautiful sights and historicall nice too, We walked all over and came in to see up close the Church of San Antonio done as a royal chapel in Aranjuez. Let me tell you more of it as it really needs a post of its own and deservingly so,

The Church of San Antonio was designed as a royal chapel. Moreover, it was originally an oratory of Felipe IV. It was made in the 18C. The space is arranged according to a system of arcades, using a set of curves and counter-curves. It is circular in plan and has a beautiful dome. It was strongly marked by Italian art.

King Felipe IV ordered to set up as provisional due to the limited capacity of the Royal Chapel, which only had two altars. It was also used as a barracks by the Napoleonic troops. It is integrated into the formation of the Plaza de San Antonio, the nerve center of Aranjuez and traditionally known as the Plaza de la Mariblanca, the first of the initiatives of the urban expansion of the Royal Site. It is occupying the vanishing point of the square and assimilating to a system of arches that articulate the great space, through a game of curves and against curves. It is part of a courtly urbanism where the Italian influence is evident, of a centralized circular plan, underlined by the dome, responds to this influence.

The Church of San Antonio is a temple of baroque conception. King Fernando VI ordered the construction of a chapel dedicated to San Antonio de Padua on the south side of the main square that gives entrance to the Royal Site to replace the Oratory of the time of Felipe IV. This chapel would serve for the people and the Monarchy. Construction began in 1752 ,king Carlos III ordered the chapel to be enlarged, incorporating a large square piece with a gabled roof.

The temple is formed by a central floor with circular geometry embraced on the outside by a porticoed gallery with five semicircular arches decorated with Tuscan pilasters and grandstands, as a finishing façade facing south from the square of the same name. The galleries of arches that connect this chapel with the Casa de Infantes on one side and on the other with the Casa de Caballeros y Oficios, were built in 1767 . The construction is of brick factory, except in holes and cornices that are made of Colmenar stone and lead roofs.

The city of Aranjuez on its heritage:https://visita.aranjuez.es/arquitectura/aranjuez-urbanismo-y-arquitectura-en-el-paisaje/

The Cultural site of Spain on the Church San Antonio: http://www.spainisculture.com/en/monumentos/madrid/iglesia_de_san_antonio_de_aranjuez.html

There you go folks, a short and sassy introduction to the nice royal Church of San Antonio or St Anthony of the princely city of  Aranjuez. Hope you enjoy this post and see my other posts on Aranjuez, worth the detour.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!

I come back to do a post on a forgotten monument by me ! I have an older post of the heritage of Alcalà de Henares but left this important one out for some reason, Looking at my vault of pictures realised was not included and its time I give it credit it deserves. We took a leisure time to walk all over and see these magnificent architecture buildings full of history we love. I like to tell you a bit more on Convento Monasterio Agustinas de Santa Maria Magdalena of Alcalà de Henares!

I used to lived in Madrid and visit Spain often to say the least thereafter , however, one of my favorite towns and written on it on several posts in a general sense is Alcalà de Henares in the Comunidad de Madrid region. I hope you enjoy the post as I.

The Convento Monasterio Agustinas de Santa Maria Magdalena or the Augustinian Monastery Convent of Santa Maria Magdalena, located at Calle Escritorio ,1 at the end of Calle Santa Úrsula. It was originally founded in 1580 as a shelter for women. Later it becomes a cloister for Augustinian nuns. The church was completed in 1762. Its perspective from Calle de Santa Úrsula is one of the most beautiful in baroque Alcalá de Henares.

The Augustinian Convent of Santa María Magdalena was initially founded by brother Francisco del Niño Jesús as a shelter to fight against the prostitution that came to Alcalá de Henares attracted by the student population. Later, at the request of Cardinal Quiroga, it was converted into a convent for nuns of the Augustinian order. As usual in Complutense conventual institutions, the building that houses the congregation is much later than the foundation. The church, attributed to the Augustinian Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás and completed in 1672, has a Latin cross floor plan with a highly developed dome over a drum and an airy lantern. On the façade, strategically located at the end of Calle de Santa Úrsula, there is an atrium and stone niche with a modern image of San Agustín, all on a brick wall with a triangular pediment.

Inside, we find a church centered with a half-orange dome on pendentives. The portico is located under the choir like its Madrid model. Its elevation is Doric and it is decorated with a large entablature of paired corbels. It housed important works of art; paintings by Antolinez, Carreño and Ricci; Escalante or Murillo tables; pre-churrigeresque sculptures and altarpieces.  The contrast with the slate of the dome and the symmetry broken by the belfry constitutes one of the most beautiful and characteristic urban perspectives of Alcalá de Henares.  The complex, much restored today, suffered serious damage during the Spanish Civil War, a period during which many important works of art were lost. The current convent is of modern construction, although the original Renaissance façade on Calle Gallo is preserved.

The Alcalà de Henares tourist office on the convent: https://alcalaturismoymas.com/convento-de-agustinas-de-santa-maria-magdalena/

The city of Alcalà de Henares  things to see: https://www.turismoalcala.es/museos-y-monumentos/

There you go folks, Alcalà de Henares is truly a city to come back again, lots to see and the Convento Monasterio Agustinas de Santa Maria Magdalena is  one of them for sure. Again, hope you enjoy the post as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all!!!