Paris1972-Versailles2003

We are back to my dear Madrid again !! love it !! We came by car of course and took time to see old repeats as never tired of them in my Madrid! I came again with my boys and dog Rex, and it was a thrill as usual! I like to tell you more of Madrid to heaven and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday !!! Let me take you to the fountains in the Retiro park of Madrid !!! Sit back and enjoy with me the next several posts ; and hope you enjoy it as I,

The city of Madrid is the capital of the kingdom of Spain, and located in the Comunidad de Madrid region From my latest escapes it is 211 km from Valladolid City , 198 km from our rental house in Velliza, 183 km from Tordesillas, 172 km from Rueda, 159 km from Medina del Campo, and 199 km from Simancas, We made long walks all over the City , and took the metro when necessary, three times. I love to tell you of our latest escape to the wonderful City, for the memories of always and return, eventually. This is another must for me while in the City it is huge and beautiful wonderful nature in the center of Madrid with many things to do and see !

The Fuente de la Alcachofa or Triton, located in the Plaza de Honduras, in the northwest vertex of the Campo Grande, was built in 1781 as part of the elements destined to decorate the Salon del Prado . This embellishment plan, initiated in 1767 during the reign of Carlos III, The lower body is formed by the figures of a triton and a siren, or Nereida, which, kneeling, holds between them the shield of Madrid while the triton, in addition, the royal crown above that. Above the shield, and in the middle of the previous group, the central column that, with base and capitel of acanthus leaves, holds the upper nave and in which, on the back, at the height of the shield, is sculpted the head of the Neptune god with a cartel in which the inscription “McClXXXII” (1282 gregorian calendar) appears. On this last glass is the intermediate body, in which four children standing, united by the arms surrounding the pillar on which the last body rises, formed by a large artichoke of the assider emerges. The whole set, with limestone, is surrounded by a hedge that, like the metal railing that closes it, is of little height.  

The Fuente del Angel Caido in the Glorieta del Angel Caido, in the Retiro park, sits on the plot that occupied the Porcelain factory of China, destroyed during the War of Independence in 1813. The Madrid sculptor Ricardo Bellver made the work called the fallen angel in plaster. The work was acquired by the State and it was decided to send it to Paris, on the occasion of the Universal Exhibition of 1878. Since only marble or bronze sculptures were admitted, the procedures to perform the foundry in said metal were initiated. It was carried out in Paris, by the Thiebaut-Fils house. The fallen angel then became part of the National Museum collection. A pedestal was executed in granite, bronze and stone, adopting the structure of a fountain with a wide pylon. The set was officially opened in 1885. The set has approximate dimensions of 10 meters long, 10 wide and 7 high. Bellver’s sculpture measures 2.65 meters high. The fallen angel, with the wings deployed and contorted, rests on some rocks ,which serve as a base, while a large snake is screwed around its body. This work shows three great influences: Hellenistic, especially from Laocoonte and her children; the Baroque , especially of Bernini, for its composition of diagonal lines and their expressiveness; and the Romantic, for its feeling and dramatic intensity. The Glorieta del Angel Caido is at an official topographic altitude of 666 meters above sea level in Madrid.

The Fuente Egipcia del dios Canopo, or of the sphinxes best known as Fuente Egipcia is a monumental fountain of romantic tastes of the time. Its style is Neoegipcio, although he also presents some neoclassical traces. The source was conceived as a landscape whim, a type of ornamental element, usually thematized, in which, through unique architectural models, some fantasy, historical, exotic or rustic issue with a clear intention to reference architectural and sculptorically reference to the old Egypt, an issue that, at that time, aroused special interest, thanks to the Napoleonic campaign of Egypt and the development of Egyptology, Finally, the name of the Fuente Egipcia del dios Canopo was imposed, due to the erroneous identification of the canopo nave of its front with a divinity, which would later lead to the abbreviated formula of Fuente Egipcia, or Tripona or Gorda,or preñada nicknames, The Fuente Egipcia was raised on the southern banks of the Estanque or large pond , where it occupies the central part, to hide an existing water tank, which is attached. Being attached to the aforementioned deposit, the source is configured murally, as a facade. It is formed by a pediment, in whose center a niche opens with a stigilated canopy nave, a funeral container of ancient Egypt, where the viscera of the deceased, washed and embalmed were deposited. This is based on a dice, in which a tap is installed, with a circular pylon at your feet. On the sides two pedestals arise, in which two sphinxes rest, arranged symmetrically and confronted. In the central vertex another pedestal rises and on it a fragment of classic column, in which the sculpture of Osiris was settled ; now lost.

The Madrid tourist office on the Fuente de la Alcachofa : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/fuente-de-la-alcachofa

The Madrid tourist office on the Fuente del Angel Caido : https://www.esmadrid.com/en/tourist-information/el-angel-caido

The Comunidad de Madrid tourist office on the parks and gardens of Madrid : https://turismomadrid.es/en/to-see-and-do/leisure/parks-and-gardens.html

There you go folks , another wonderful nostalgic, sentimental trip to my dear Spain, Madrid is always nostalgic sentimental words cannot describe it ! This is a vibrant cosmopolitan cities of friendly faces and smiles to share in long conversations about life and more ; I love it, And these places are part of my life forever ! We will be back here,eventually! Again, hope you enjoy this post on the fountains in the Retiro park of Madrid !!! as I.

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