Page:The American Cyclopædia (1879) Volume X.djvu/841

MADRID 835 San Ger6nimo and Alcala streets, is about 1,450 ft. long and 240 ft. wide, and is decorated with three superb fountains : Cybele on a car drawn by two colossal lions of white marble, at the north, Apollo in the centre, and Neptune to the south. There are five smaller fountains in the Prado, and on the campo de lealtad (field of loyalty), beside the salon, is a beautiful obe- lisk to the memory of the victims of the dos de mayo (May 2), surrounded by funereal cypress- es. Among the gay crowds which throng this paseo on fine afternoons, in carriages, on horse- back, and on foot, the graceful national veil and mantilla of the women of the middle classes and the capa or cloak of the men are still worn ; but French fashions have been generally adopted by the higher ranks. The Fuente Castellana, formerly called the Delicias de Isabel, is a pro- longation of the Prado ; it was laid out during the regency of Espartero, is embellished with two fountains, and comprises three parallel av- enues, that in the centre being for equestrians and carriages. Other paseos are those of Ato- cha, a favorite resort for invalids, being more sheltered than the rest; Las Delicias, from the Puerta de Atocha to the banks of the riv- er ; La Virgen del Puerto, between the Puerta de Segovia and that of San Vicente, along the banks of the Manzanares, the usual holiday re- sort for the lower classes; and La Florida, a northern continuation of the last. The new suburban boulevard de Narvaez, about 1 m. long, parallel to the Fuente Castellana, and planned by the marquis of Salamanca in 1865, will greatly enhance the picturesqueness of that locality. The gardens and other public grounds of Madrid are more numerous than beautiful. The most noteworthy is the Buen Retiro, an extensive park arranged for Philip IV. by the duke of Olivares, E. of the Prado, and extending from the calle de Alcala to the Paseo de Atocha; it contains numerous spa- cious and shady walks, a pond, a lake, a mira- dor or belvedere commanding a magnificent view of the town, a menagerie, botanic gar- dens, and the observatory. The garden was used by the French as a military pose in 1808, and little has since been done to reclaim it from decay. N. of the Buen Retiro are the Campos Eliseos, with well kept gardens and a small theatre (Teatro de Rossini), frequented in sum- mer by multitudes of pleasure seekers. On the W. side of the town are the Montana del Prin- cipe Pio, and the ancient Jardin del Moro, now the palace gardens. Madrid is a suffragan bish- opric of Toledo, and has no cathedral, ranking consequently as a town (villa), and not a city (ciudad). The place of a cathedral is supplied by the antique church of Santa Maria de la Al- mudena, once a mosque, but dedicated to the Virgin by Alfonso VI. The architecture and decorations of this, as of all the other churches, numbering between 60 and 70, are with few exceptions barbarous. The church of Nuestra Senora de Atocha, founded for the Dominicans in 1523, contains the wonder-working image of the Virgin, patroness of Madrid, whose miracles have been sung by countless poets, from Lope de Vega down to our time. The treasure of this church, valued at $500,000, was seized by the revolutionary government in 1868. Isabella II. with her husband and family attended a special mass here every Saturday. Among the other most important churches are the colegiata or convent of San Isidro (the patron of Madrid), founded in 1651, with frescoed cupolas by Clau- dio and Donoso Cuello ; the royal chapel, in the palace, with a ceiling from the brush of Giaquin- to, and gorgeous tapestry ; and those of Carmen. Calzado, Descalzas Reales, and Encarnacion. The convents, of which Madrid once possessed the largest number of any one city in the world, have been almost entirely suppressed, and the buildings either demolished or appropriated to other purposes. Protestant churches have been established of late years, and large con- gregations formed, while Protestant Sunday schools are multiplying in several quarters of the town. The most distinguished public edi- fice is the royal palace, erected in 1737-'50, one of the most magnificent in Europe ; it is of gran- ite and white marble, occupies an area of 220,- 900 sq. ft. on the site of the ancient Moorish alcazar, and rises dazzlingly white against the sky to a height of 100 ft., between the Plaza de Oriente and the palace gardens. The ceil- ings are masterpieces of Corrado, Mengs, Tie- polo, and Velazquez; the decorations include gorgeous mirrors from San Ildef onso and the richest marbles of Spain, and until recently the walls were hung with a profusion of paint- ings by the best masters, many of which have been removed to the Museo Real. The palace library contains about 100,000 volumes; the royal stables, N. E. of the palace proper, have an astonishing variety of carriages, and in re- gal days sheltered the hundreds of horses, po- mes, and mules comprising the monarch's stud. But the most curious of all the appurtenances of the royal residence is the armory (real ar- merid), with 2,533 specimens of arms and ac- coutrements, embracing the armors of Guzman el Bueno, Gonsalvo de Cordova, Hernan Cortes, Columbus, and that worn by Don John of Austria at the battle of Lepanto, with the crowns of the Gothic kings found in the moun- tains of Toledo. In the throne room is a val- uable numismatic collection, of upward of 150,- 000 specimens. The royal museum, in the Pra- do, is unequalled in the world for its collection of masterpieces of painting, the number of which, catalogued in 1874, is about 2,500 ; " a collection," says Mr. Hay, " not only the great- est in the world, but the greatest that can ever be made until this is broken up." It comprises 46 works of Murillo, conspicuous among which is the "Martyrdom of St. Andrew;" 65 of Ve- lazquez, 58 of Ribera (the least sympathetic of the Spanish masters), 10 of Raphael, 64 of Ru- bens, 60 of Teniers (of whose works the Louvre possesses only about a dozen), 43 of Titian, 34 of Tintoretto, and 25 of Paul Veronese ; while