Visit Madrid and not go to the Prado? Impossible.
As a Belgian, you can’t obviously pass up the opportunity to admire a Rubens. The Prado owns one of the largest and one of the best collections of Rubens’s paintings thanks to the connection with the Spanish monarchy. There was one painting in particular that I definitely wanted to see; ‘The Adoration of the Magi’.
I first came across it when I was nine years old in a Suske & Wiske comic strip. ‘De raap van Rubens’ or Rubens’ apprentice.
What I didn’t know is that different versions were painted. The first canvas was painted in 1609 commissioned by the city of Antwerp to celebrate the truce between Spain and the United Dutch Provinces. The painting was given as a gift to Rodrigo Calderón, who was a powerful Spanish courtier and favourite of King Philip III at the time. Rubens repainted and enlarged the painting during his second visit to Spain in 1628-1629. He stayed for about 8 months. The painting at KMSKA, Antwerp & our home town, was painted in 1624-1625. (follow the link to admire the painting)
We also stopped by the Cervantes Institute. Not because we wanted a crash course in Spanish, but because we were attracted to the building. It used to be a bank building and has an impressive vault room. But unfortunately we were not granted access.
Instituto Servantes is a public institution created by Spain in 1991 to promote the teaching, study and use of Spanish worldwide and contribute to the dissemination of Hispanic cultures abroad.
As we walked towards the Palacio de Real Madrid, we stumbled upon a bronze statue. The man’s butt really invited you to give it a proper squeeze.
Fortunately, it was not considered inappropriate sexual harassment ;-)
We also popped into the Mercado de San Miguel to satisfy our tiny cravings, but it was too crowded.
Next to the Palacio you have the Cathedral de Santa Maria la Real de la Almudena.
It is actually a relatively recent building. Construction began in 1883 and it was inaugurated in 1993 by Pope John Paul II. The cathedral is beautiful, and you should definitely look up to admire the beautiful ceiling.
In Plaza de España, you will find the monument in honour of Miguel de Cervantes. Just like Don Quixote fighting windmills, the project faced strong headwinds. It took no less than 14 years to be inaugurated. Afterwards, several adjustments were made to bring it to its final version.
