In close proximity to the Convent of San Martin, which gave its name to the outlying district, stood a palace as early as the 15th century. By the beginning of the 16th century it had passed to the hands of Don Alonso Gutiérrez, bookkeeper to Emperor Charles V, but the building was a few after converted in a convent dedicated to Our Lady of Solace, and housed a community of Poor Clares, popularly known as The Descalzas Reales (literally "Monastery of Royal Barefoots") or Royal Discalced Nuns, since 1559.
It was Juana of Austria, Charles V's youngest daughter, who established the convent. After being widowed by Prince John, heir to Portuguese throne, she returned to Castile and was summoned by her father to act as regent of the Spanish kingdoms, as Prince Philip was to depart for England. Despite leaving her four-month old son Sebastian behind in Lisbon, Juana never returned to Portugal. After being released from her duties to the state, she concentrated on founding a religious and social complex, with different functions: a convent for prayer and shelter, a royal residence, a charity hospital, a school for orphan girls, and the necessary outbuildings and areas to ensure self-sufficiency, such a vegetable gardens, dairies and a bakery.
But the most importan for us is the arrival of Maria of Austria at the convent. She was the spouse of Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Bohemia and Hungary, and the daughter of Emperor Charles V. She twice served as regent of Spain. Here she is:
On 13 September 1548, aged twenty, she married her cousin Archduke Maximilian. The couple first stayed at the Spanish court and had sixteen children during the course of a twenty-eight-year marriage.
While her father was occupied with German affairs, Maria and Maximilian acted as regents of Spain from 1548 to 1550. In 1552, the couple moved to live at the court of Maximilian's father in Vienna. During the absence of her brother, King Philip II, from 1558 to 1561, Maria was again regent of Spain and returned to Madrid during that time.
After her return to Germany, her husband gradually succeeded his father Ferdinand I as ruler of Germany, Bohemia and Hungary, which he ruled from 1564 to his death in 1576. Maria was a devout Catholic and frequently disagreed with her religiously ambiguous husband. She had great influence over her sons, the future emperors Rudolf and Matthias. And we still can see a memory of the presence of Rudolf the Emperor in the main staircase of the Convent. Look at the detail.
Maria returned to Spain in 1582, commenting that she was very happy to live in "a country withoutheretics". She settled with her daughter Margaret in theConvent of Las Descalzas Reales, where she lived until her death in 1603.
She was the patron of Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spain's finest Renaissance composer that worked at the convent from 1587 to the end of his life in 1611. The great Requiem Mass he wrote in 1603 for Maria's funeral is considered among the finest and most refined of his works.
Maria, the Austrian representative to the Spanish court – and Margaret of the Cross, Maria's daughter – along with queen Margaret, were a powerful Catholic and pro-Austrian faction in the court of Philip III of Spain. This is the portrait of Margaret the nun, also buried at the convent, as her mother.
In the convent we could visit the Lower Cloister, the main staircase, the Upper Cloister, the choir, the Tapestry Room, the Hall of the Kings and the Flemish Painting Room. Look at the photographs below.
Upper Cloister
The Choir
Tappestry Room
The original architect of the convent was Antonio Sillero, who made the church too. The façade was designed by Juan Bautista de Toledo in 1559; who also helped in the roofing of the church. Parts of the altar, choir, and sacristy, were designed by Juan Gómez de Mora in 1612. We find, then, three of the best architects of the time working in the same building. Gaspar Becerra in 1562 completed the main retablo of the altar, which was considered his master work. Unfortunately, this retablo was destroyed by fire in 1862, along with many of the paintings and frescoes by Juan Pantoja de la Cruz. In 1863 the altar was replaced by one commissioned in 1716 by Philip V of Spain to conmemorate the beatification of the French jesuit Jean-François Règis, including canvases by Michel-Ange Houasse. It has a sculpted relief of the Apotheosis of Juan Francisco Régis, by Camillo Rusconi. The lateral panels were sculpted by Jose Bellver. The recumbent statue of the Jesuit was sculpted by Agostino Cornacchini. A chapel contains the marble orant statue of Joan of Austria by either Pompeo Leoni or Crescenci. Some photographs of the church:
Orant statue of Joan of Austria
Nave
Perhaps we'll need the family tree of the Habsburg for understanding such a mess of marriages. Here it is. Try to find the main characters of this story that continues now in the convent of the Encarnation.
Dominions of the HOUSE OF HABSBURG
(at the abdication of Charles V)
Day 2. Saturday, April 20.
11.30 h. Walking to the Convent of "Encarnación" by Arenal Street. Helena, our guide, tells us some pieces of information about the streets that surround Opera Square.
The Convent of La Encarnación in Madrid was founded in 1611 by Philip III and Margaret of Austria. Seeing the result of the work carried out by Princess Juana of Portugal at Las Descalzas Reales, the queen decided to have a similar convent built near the Alcázar palace. The site chosen for the convent was located opposite the Colegio de Doña María de Aragón (now the Senate) and the royal architect Juan Gómez de Mora was commissioned to design the building. The convent was connected with the Alcázar palace by a passageway running between one of the wings of the main façade.
So we merely look at the façade and the structure of the building, we only give a few information just about it.
The convent is built in a classical style that is modelled on the designs introduced by Juan de Herrera's followers at El Escorial. The convent complex forms a large rectangle with the church at the centre; leading up to the entrance is a forecourt which separates the religious and urban areas and is enclosed on either side by walls and by railings opposite the façade. The walls are flint masonry and brick and the façade is granite. The church façade is the so-called "box" type and displays a severe geometrical design with Baroque features. It has been atributed to Juan Gómez de Mora, though some researchers believe that it was designed by Fray Alberto de la Madre Dios.The forerunner to the façade of La Encarnación can be seen in the Monastery of San José in ävila, which was designed by Francisco de Mora. The Madrid façade is a rectangle formed by two plain pilasters with architraves surmounted by a straight pediment. The relief, carved in marble by Antonio de Riera around 1617, depicts The Annunctiation, to which the building is dedicated.
Day 2. Saturday, April 20.
12.30 h. Walking across the "Old Madrid", the "Madrid of Austrias".
We offer you the video. Nothing is better. Our guide, Helena, the teachers, the always interested students... Everybody walking across the Madrid of Austrias, listening the explanations, and knowing well Oriente Square, Royal Palace, Bailén Street, Mayor Street, Villa (Town Hall) Square, Codo Alley, Count of Miranda Square, Mayor Square, Sol Gate Square... Ok, let's go.
We have been able to see in the video three equestrian statues concerning three Spanish kings, which two of them we have previously talked about.
Monument to Philip IV or Fountain of Philip IV (Oriente Square). The equestrian statue of the king dates to the 17th century and was produced by the Italian sculptor Pietro Tacca using scientific advice from Galileo Galilei, drawings by Diego Velázquez and a bust by Juan Martínez Montañés (who also collaborated on the work). Perhaps it is the best equestrian statue that we have in Spain.
Equestrian statue of Philip III (Mayor Square). There is a bronze statue of King Philip III at the center of the square, created in 1616 by Jean Boulogne and finished by his apprentice Pietro Tacca. It was a present for the King of the Great Duke of Florence.
Day 2. Saturday, April 20.
An evening promenade (Buen Retiro Park and City Centre).
This Sunday morning we try to get information about one of the most interesting districts of the city centre: the "Barrio de las Letras". It was inhabited by the most famous writers of the Spanish Golden Age (XVII century), like Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Calderón de la Barca or Quevedo, and it housed the main theatres ("corralas de comedias") between now and then, being used also as a shelter for actors, actresses, and other people of bad life. For example, the king Philip IV.
Miguel de Cervantes
Pedro Calderón de la Barca
Félix Lope de Vega
Francisco de Quevedo
First, we will visit the Lope de Vega's house museum, from the hand of Samuel and David, and with the essential collaboration of Honza, our cameraman. Our speakers confuse "chapel" and "chapel of rest" (oratorio/velatorio), but we beg your pardom. They are young and unconscious.
Cervantes and Lope de Vega were neighbours, but they didn't get along very well. Perhaps the origin was a certain jealousy for Cervantes' part, caused for the success of Lope. Oddly, Cervantes is buried in the current "Lope de Vega street", and Lope had his house in the current "Cervantes street". History is sometimes wicked.
Afterwards, we go to Santa Ana square, where is situated the Spanish Theatre ("Teatro Español"). If you want to know something about it, look at this page:
"Teatro Español", like others, was in the beginning a "corral de comedias", literally a "theatrical courtyard", a type of open-air theatre specific to Spain. In Spanish all secular plays were called comedias, which embraced three genres: tragedy, drama, and comedy itself. During the Spanish Golden Age, corrals became popular sites for theatrical presentations in the early 16th century, when the theater took on a special importance in the country. The performance was held in the afternoon and lasted two to three hours, there being no intermission, and few breaks. The entertainment was continuous, including complete shows with parts sung and danced. All spectators were placed according to their sex and social status.
You can find a funny explanation about the "corral de comedias" in this webpage, designed with an amusing slideshare:
And if you want to know more concerning the history of the Teatro Español, take a look at this:
Samuel and David tell us some details of it.
Monument of Calderón de la Barca
Moratín Street
Quevedo street
Cervantes street
Lope de Vega street
Commemorative plaque of Cervantes's tomb
This morning we have taken a good walk around. Theatres, bars, restaurants, cinemas, historical places... What a district!
And for finishing, we visit an important place of the district. The printshop where the first edition of Don Quixote was made. It belonged to Juan de la Cuesta, the most famous printer of the quarter in the Golden Age, because he was the printer of Cervantes's and Lope's works.
Day 4. Monday, April 22.
9.00 h. A warm welcome in our High School: IES Ciudad de Jaén.
This morning all together arrived at High School. We had made ready several interesting things.
The act would be placed in our library, and we had prepared some posters about our visit to Ostrava in October 2012. Here they are:
First, our headmaster, in that moment Mr. Francisco Cilleruelo, offered a welcoming speech, gracefully translated into English by Christina, one of our English Assistants.
Afterwards the teacher Mrs. Ivana Freitagova, Comenius project's coordinator, gave us some delight presents. And we all, Nuria, Ivana and this humble servant, posed for a great photograph.
11.30 h. Having a good rest for a breakfast, we continue the activity.
The next act in the programme was the exhibition of a video showing our works in the last ten years in Comenius project. Our High School has participated in several projects in this time and we are persuaded that the most important thing is the human experience that we have amassed during these years, knowing a lot of people of European countries and working with the students. We wanted to offer this experience to our present partners, and now you can see the video in this link: https://vimeo.com/83797947. We hope that you enjoy this as much as we did.
13.00 h. And for ending we had a little surprise.
Really we had a very good surprise, and it was hidden in our assembly hall. The theater group directed by Jaime, teacher of Spanish Language and Literature, partner of Comenius also, had prepared three "entremeses" written by Cervantes. The "entremés" is a short play inserted between acts, since spectators in our Golden Age needed to be amused all the time, without empty periods. It was a very eager and greedy public.
Jaime had chosen these three works that you can read in the Web, clicking the names:
We counted on the help of Rafael Maza, actor from the Royal School of Theatre (RESAD), also a very good friend. And, of course, boys and girls of the Jaime's theatre school. The performance had an emphatic success, as you can see in this video that shows some selected pieces.
Day 5. Tuesday, April 23.
9.30 h. We take the bus to Guadarrama mountains, to the Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial.
The Royal Seat of San Lorenzo de El Escorial is one of the Spanish royal sites, undoubtedly the most magnificent, which gathered all the functions of a Renaissance palace: monastery, church, royal crypt, royal palace, country house, hunting house, garden, museum, library and school. We had thought to divide the visit to the Seat of San Lorenzo in two parts.
First, Juan Carlos Frías, teacher of History, would give a class about arts in Spanish Renaissance basing on the pictures of the museum. He had gone before to San Lorenzo for preparing the class and selecting the works. One of the best aims of the Comenius visits is the possibility of using historical places as a classroom.
Secondly, myself, Antonio Sánchez, teacher of Philosophy, would explain the architectural lines and details paying attention at the sense of the building and its different purposes. We are faced with a superb construction which three of the great architects of this time worked on: Juan Bautista de Toledo, Juan de Herrera and Juan Gómez de Mora. You can see more about them just in this present blog: http://renaissancearchitecture.blogspot.cz/p/blog-page_6.html
Final plan of the building
Of course, the Royal Seat of San Lorenzo was also a great place of work for the best painters, sculptors, altarpieces makers, muralists. cartographers, draughtsmen, craftsmen, master builders, workmen, librarians, pharmacists, gardeners... The finest workers of this period passed for this building. For more information, you can consult the pages of this blog concerning the Renaissance and Baroque architecture, and take a look at this video, that shows the pleasant itinerary that Honza, our cameraman, recorded. The music of the video, the "Folía" Adórote Señor, was composed by Francisco de la Torre, a notable Renaissance musician from Seville.
Rudolf II, at 16 years old,
by Alonso Sánchez Coello
"San Lorenzo de El Escorial" brought together people of a great talent (Juan de Nates, Diego de Sisniega, Francisco del Río, Giovanni Battista Castello, fray José de Sigüenza, fray Antonio de Villacastín, Pellegrino Tibaldi, Luca Giordano, Luca Cambiaso, Benito Arias Montano, Tiziano, Sánchez Coello...) and between them a young prince that was under the tutelage of his uncle, Philip II the King, eight years in the Spanish Court. We are refering to prince Rudolf, later Rudolf II King of Bohemia and Holy Roman Emperor. As you can read in the link above and our blog, Rudolf growed up with his uncle the King of Spain, and he was very keen on arts and occult sciences. Really, some scholars think that San Lorenzo is plenty of secret meanings.
If you want to know more about San Lorenzo and its esoteric properties:
13.30 h. We leave San Lorenzo de El Escorial and, crossing the mountains, take the way to Segovia.
We are going to visit the Renaissance city of Segovia. But before all, we must to have lunch. It has been a hard morning. And what a better place for eating than, at the food of Castle of Segovia ("Alcázar"), the meadow of "Nuestra Señora de la Fuencisla" (Shrine of Our Lady of Fuencisla)? A pleasant place that brings back to the memory verses of Garcilaso de la Vega. The gallant and bucolic love:
"Contigo mano a mano
busquemos otros prados y otros ríos,
otros valles floridos y sombríos,
donde descanse, y siempre pueda verte
ante los ojos míos,
sin miedo y sobresalto de perderte."
And indeed a good place to do sport after eating to burn calories.
16.00 h. A walk around the centre of Segovia.
Azoguejo Square
Eva Torres, our guide in Segovia, was waiting for us in Azoguejo Square, the popular place that keeps in its middle, like a spine, one of the most spectacular monuments in all Spain: the Roman aqueduct. Eva had been said that we want to study the Renaissance part of the town, that is, palaces, houses and squares from this period. But before it, we would have to suffer an arduous photocall in front of aqueduct. As always and evermore (Pay attention to David! ¡al loro con el careto de David!)
We began the tour in the ancient wall, and went to old city, looking at the landscape, the streets and the palaces, like "Casa de los Picos". But the best arrived when we reached "Juan Bravo Square".
Juan Bravo was the Segovian Comuneros' leader.
The Revolt of the Comuneros was an uprising by citizens of Castile against the rule of Charles V and his administration between 1520 and 1521. At its height, the rebels controlled the heart of Castile, ruling the cities of Valladolid, Tordesillas, and Toledo.
The revolt occurred in the wake of political instability in the Crown of Castile after the death of Queen Isabella I in 1504. Joanna the Mad, Ferdinand and Isabella's second daughter, inherited the throne with her Burgundian husband King Philip I. However, Philip died two years into his reign, and their son Charles was only six years old. Due to his youth and Joanna's mental instability, Castile was ruled by the nobles and Ferdinand of Aragon as a regency. After Ferdinand's death in 1516, the sixteen-year-old Charles was proclaimed King Charles I of both Castile and Aragon. Charles had been raised in the Netherlands with little knowledge of Castilian Spanish. He arrived in Spain in October 1517 accompanied by a large retinue of Flemish nobles and clerics. These factors resulted in mistrust between the new king and the Castilian social elites, who could see the threat to their power and status.
In 1519, Charles was elected Holy Roman Emperor. He departed for Germany in 1520, leaving the Dutch cardinal Adrian of Utrecht to rule Castile in his absence. Soon, a series of anti-government riots broke out in the cities, and local city councils (Comunidades) took power. The rebels chose Charles' own mother, Queen Joanna, as an alternative ruler, hoping they could control her madness. The rebel movement took on a radical anti-feudal dimension, supporting peasant rebellions against the landed nobility. On April 23, 1521, after nearly a year of rebellion, the reorganized supporters of the emperor struck a crippling blow to the comuneros at the Battle of Villalar. The following day, rebel leaders Juan de Padilla, Juan Bravo, and Francisco Maldonado were beheaded. The army of the comuneros fell apart. Only the city of Toledo kept alive the rebellion, until its surrender in October 1521.
And the most importan for us: Segovia was the city of the first armed clash between the comuneros and the royalists. The situation moved closer to armed conflict on June 10. Rodrigo Ronquillo had been sent to Segovia by the Royal Council to investigate the recent murder of Segovia's legislator, but Segovia refused him entry. Unable to besiege a city of 30,000 with only a small force, Ronquillo instead set out to blockade foodstuffs and other supplies from entering Segovia. The people of Segovia, led by militia leader and noble Juan Bravo, rallied around the Comunidad. Segovia requested aid against Ronquillo's army from the Comunidades of Toledo and Madrid. The cities responded by sending their militias, captained by Juan de Padilla and Juan Zapata, who won in the first major confrontation between the forces of the king and the rebels.
Nowadays, the autonomous community of Castile and León recognized April 23, the day of Villalar battle, as an official holiday, the Comuneros' day.
We leave San Martín Square and go walking to the Alcázar. On the way we find Mayor Square and the Cathedral of Segovia, built just in the period that we are studying. But, on the way we have discovered an architectural element that calls our attention. Let's stop for a moment.
We are talking about the "sgraffito" ("esgrafiado" in Spanish). Sgraffito is a technique either of wall decor, produced by applying layers of plaster tinted in contrasting colours to a moistened surface, or in ceramics, by applying to an unfired ceramic body two successive layers of contrasting slip, and then in either case scratching so as to produce an outline drawing.
In case of Segovia it's very usual to see this kind of decorations in the façade of a lot of houses, normally with duplicated geometrical designs, as you can observe in the photographs below, and in this page: http://renaissancearchitecture.blogspot.cz/p/sgraffito-in-segovia.html
And it is very interesting that we have just seen this sgraffito technique in our visit to Czech Republique, precisely in the city of Český Krumlov. A lot of houses in this pretty town, full of Renaissance treasures, shows in their façades nice and creative designs in sgraffito, and we took some images of them.
Very attractive, indeed. Don't you think so?
Well, we take the way back and arrive to the Alcázar Square, but nevertheless we don't go to the castle because, from the lookout in the square, we can see a spectacular view: the landscape and the buildings that lie down on the poplar grove by the river. There it's built the Veracruz church, the Monastery of Saint Mary of Parral and, above all, the Monastery of Discalced Carmelites, founded by Saint John of the Cross, which is now buried inside.
Saint John of the Cross is one of the best poets in Spanish Golden Age. He was a reformer of the Carmelite Order and is considered, along with Saint Teresa of Ávila, as a founder of the Discalced Carmelites. But he is mainly known for his writings, so both his poetry and his studies on the growth of the soul are considered the summit of mystical Spanish poetry and one of the peaks of all Spanish literature.
It is the nicest moment to listen some verses of John of the Cross since, looking at this pleasant poplar grove, our eyes are filled with light and joy of living.
And so, with rhymes, dulzainas and kisses, we come back to Madrid.
Our Czech partners took us to a brewery when we were in Ostrava. Something logic if you consider that we were visiting the country that gave birth to Pilsner beer. We wanted to give back this present and we also went with our Czech friends to a brewery in Madrid. The little diference is that our old brewery, "El Águila Beer Factory", is nowadays the Madrid Regional Library "Joaquín Leguina" (Joaquín Leguina was the first president of the Community of Madrid). When the almighty Heineken bought "El Águila", the built was transformed in a library. Can you imagine barley siloes turned into archives? Well, it is so now. And we got two working rooms for continuing with our assignments. Ivana and Nuria divided the students in two groups and they passed all morning long working like titans. Really! And in lunch time they were to the dinning room of RENFE, that is close to the Railway Museum.
Here we have some pictures of this morning.
Have you heard the "Beer Barrel Polka" in this video? Usually we thought that it is a German song, but not at all. This polka (also known as "Rosamunde", in the German version) is not a Bavarian song, as many believe, but of Czech origin.
The author of the music is the Czech composer Jaromír Vejvoda (1927). On it Eduard Ingris (also Czech) made some arrangements, resulting in the extended version, which is what we hear today.
At first they played without lyrics, and it became known as the "Polka Modřanská". Vasek Zeman wrote its first lyrics known in 1934, calling it “Škoda lásky” (Lost Love).
That same year, 1934, Glahé brought out the German version, with lyrics by Klaus S. Richter, which called it “Rosamunde”.
Although it was known outside Czechoslovakia and Germany from 1934 to 1935, it was not internationalized until 1938 (some people say that the German occupation of the Czech Sudetenland possibly accelerated the internationalization of this piece, for the migration of thousands of Czechs to other parts of the world). Na Zdravi!
Ivana Freitagova says to me that the lyrics in Czech don't talk about beer, but brokenhearted love. Even so, better with beer.
Here it is my translation:
What a shame for the lovethat I've given you!
What a shame for the tears that I've cried!
My youth has escaped as an illusion.
From everything a recall in my heart
only remains.
17.00 h. Reception in the Old Town Hall.
In the afternoon we had an important meeting. Thanks to Manuel López-Fuchet, Assistant General Manager of International Relations in Madrid Council, we had the opportunity of visiting the inside of the Old Town Hall in Villa Square.
In this occasion Mr. Karel Beran, Ambassador of Czech Republic, would be with us, as well as Mr. Ricardo Iglesias, from the Major’s International Relations Office, that provided for the event a Council guide, Mrs. Natalia Gutiérrez. All we weared very formal and elegant, and we discovered the incredible halls and rooms that only few people in Madrid knows, like the old Council meeting-hall. We leave you here the video of the visit, with a background music very appropiated: the “chotis”, a country dance, apparently originated in Bohemia (our czechs always so close!), that in the spanish version is the most typical dance of our old Madrid. Ladies and gentlemen, the chotis “Madrid”, by Agustín Lara.
20.00 h. To the theatre.
We had another appointment that evening. After visiting the Town Hall, we walked through the old Madrid to the "Pavón Theatre", the present seat of the National Company of Classical Theatre, right in Lavapies quarter.
There was a Cervantes's work waiting for us: "El coloquio de los perros" ("The conversation of the Dogs"), a dramatisation of one of his "Exemplary Novels", played by a very famous spanish theatre group: "Els Joglars".
Pavón Theatre
Here you can see the educational program of the theatre play, if you want to know more about it: The Conversation of the Dogs. And some photographs of the performance. At last, what a heavy and pleasant day!
Day 7. Thursday, April 25.
9.30 h. We leave to Alcalá de Henares by train.
Alcalá de Henares, meaning "Citadel of the river Henares", founded by the Romans in the 1st century BC, that called it"Complutum", and conquered afterwards by the Moors in the 8th century, which gave it the name of "Alcalá" (Citadel), is the city of Cervantes, Old University, Classical corral of comedies, Cardinal Cisneros and a lot of relevant persons which lived, studied and passed by its streets.
Besides, the city is one of UNESCO's World Heritage Sites, a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, island, desert, monument, building, complex or city) that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance.
We had to choose an objective of our visit, because the place is too much full of history, arts and life. And we decided to concentrate our view in Literary culture and Academic institutions. Let's go.
Cardinal Cisneros
First, we went to the Old Alcalá University, also Cisnerian or Complutense University. It was founded in 1499 by Cardinal Cisneros, perhaps one of the most powerful men of his age: he rose to the heights of power becoming a religious reformer, twice regent of Spain, Cardinal, Grand Inquisitor, missionary of the Moors, promoter of the Crusades in North Africa, and founder of Complutense University (currently the largest in Spain). Among his literary works he is best known for funding the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first printed polyglot of the entire Bible. He also edited and published the first printed editions of the missal (in 1500) and the breviary (in 1502) of the Mozarabic Rite.
Cardinal Cisneros commissioned architect Pedro de Gumiel to design the central building, known as Saint Ildefonsus College. The foundation stone was laid in 1499 and the Saint Ildefonsus' Chapel was completed in 1510. In 1516 began the construction of the Paraninfo (Auditorium) and in 1537 Rodrigo Gil de Hontañón designed the main façade.
Although most of the work had been carried out by 1617 when Juan Gómez de Mora redesigned the courtyard (Thomas of Villanova´s courtyard), the construction was not finished until the second half of the 17th century.
We arrived at the façade by the hand of Laura Bustos, and her tender voice. It was a windy day and Honza, our cameraman, had to do his very, very best.
Next we went through the main door for staring at the three patios of the University.
Various terms have been employed for characterizing the architectural style: “Cisneros style”, “Plateresco” or “Transition”. A hodgepodge of styles from Gothic to late Renaissance prevails in the works, with constructive and ornamental elements from Mudejar art too.
1. The largest School patio, also known as Saint Thomas of Villanova (Santo Tomás de Villanueva), was initiated, demolished the first one built in brick, in 1617 , with draft of Juan Gómez de Mora, and was finished in 1662, by José Sopeña. Three floors, frieze and balustrade, named as one of the most celebrated Complutensian students and first saint departed from its classrooms . On top of it, the Latin words attributed by tradition to Cardinal Cisneros when King Ferdinand mocked the poverty of the first courtyard: Et luteam olim marmoream nunc (“Before clay, marble now”).
2. From the ancient Philosophers courtyard, cited among others in El Buscón by Quevedo, remains only little pieces, for having been employed in the nineteenth century for industrial use after the closure of the University.
3. Then we find Trilingual Patio, which belonged to the College of St. Jerome, built between 1564 and 1570 by Pedro de la Cotera. It is named so for hosting students from Latin, Greek and Hebrew, and it is a characteristic Renaissance space, two bodies whose balustrade has largely been lost. Adjacent to the Auditorium and the Student Lodge, it closes the building in its southern part.
The works on the Auditorium (“Paraninfo”), now world famous for being annually the venue of Cervantes Prize award, began in 1516. Gutierrez de Cárdenas and Pedro de Villarroel made the plaster, and woodwork was made by Andrés Zamora, Bartolomé Aguilar, Pedro Izquierdo and Hernando Sahagún, in Mudejar style.
Laura Bustos tells us some interesting details about it.
We go outside, to Cervantes's square, and we find the Chapel of the Oidor and Tower of Santa María. Former it was closing the Cervantes's square but it was destroyed in the Spanish Civil war. Today it is a center of exhibitions and contains the baptismal font of favorite son of the city, Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra.
Birthplace of Cervantes
And finally, we will finish our visit in two special places due to their incredible spectacularity. One is a church, and the other is a theatre. Almost the same. The Mass, the Holy service, has in baroque a theatrical character.
Alcalá de Henares has a rich religious heritage. One of the most important is the closure of the Cistercian Convent of San Bernardo, founded in 1613, aiming at a Cistercian community of nuns, popularly called “Bernardine” . The patron of the work was the Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas (1599-1618), great supporter of artists and writers (Lope de Vega, Quevedo, Góngora and Cervantes).
The monastery suffered extensive damage in a fire in 1939, so several restoration works were carried out in the next decades. The closure of the Bernardine nuns was closed in 2000, leaving the building today as Museum of Religious Art.
Initially it was thought to have been designed by Sebastian de Plaza, born in Alcalá. At present the building is attributed to the architect Juan Gómez de Mora, noting the influence of mannerist church of Santa Anna dei Palafrenieri, erected in Rome. The Spaniard Juan Gomez de Mora, as we could see before, is also author of the Plaza Mayor of Madrid, Salamanca Clergy or the Royal Pantheon of El Escorial .
Its main facade, curtain type with decoration in center line from top to bottom , separated into three sections and finished in red brick, corresponds to the classical model of complutense baroque, in which the use of brick as a building material is combined with the stone covers. In the central niche above the door the image of the holder (St. Bernard of Clairvaux) appears, a sculpture attributed to Juan Bautista and Manuel Pereira Monegro surrounded by large shields of the founder (Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas) and several oculi (round windows). Their different bodies are crossed by an impost with three parallel and horizontal inscriptions describing the historical characters of the time and dedication of the building.
The church, elliptical with six side chapels, of which the diagonals repeated, on a smaller scale, the model of the large central space, is covered by a superb dome equally oval, the largest of its kind made in Spain. The free-standing baldaquin, containing the tabernacle, is placed before the high altar. Besides there are two cloisters, the monastery and the file room capitular.
In January 1997 Museum of the Cistercian Convent of San Bernardo de Alcalá de Henares was opened, located in Bernardine Convent. It has an important collection of Italian painting of the seventeenth century made by the master Angelo Nardi. It stands out in the chancel of the church altarpiece an exempt or canopy made of polychrome wood and gilded, boosted by Francisco Bautista, later architect of Collegiate of San Isidro (Madrid). The Silver and Ebony Ark of Charles V, commanded making by his son Philip II, embossed with beautiful scenes depicting victorious emperor, as well as Cardinal Sandoval's chair, unique in its kind, in which the woodwork mixes with jewelry, enriching the work by embedding rock crystals decorated like gemstones.
Let's see it! The music is by Tomás Luis de Victoria, one of the most celebrated composers of the Spanish Renaissance. A motet: "Gaudent in coelis".
And we finalize our visit in a very special place, perhaps the most important of Alcalá for us.
In 1601 Francisco Sánchez, a carpenter by profession, received a request by the city of Alcalá for building the "Corral of Comedias" (Comedy Corral) in the space that was then called “Plaza del Mercado”. A jewel of the architecture of the XVII century, the old “Corral of Shoemakers”, is now one of the oldest public theaters in the Western world.
Since opening to the public in 1602, it followed a similar process to other European theaters of the time: it was adapted to the periods with different structural reforms according to social uses of the public.
Belonging to his first stint as Comedy Corral, we find the cobbled courtyard, the terraces, some chambers, and the “cazuela” (“pot”), that is the space for the female audience.
In the eighteenth century it became a neoclassical Coliseum, thanks to roofing the yard by a dome supported by a network of beams and improving acoustics, getting so to be ideal for the development of small singing shows and chamber music.
In the nineteenth century, the romantic stage, the ceiling was blinded with a paint of plaster and the boxes distributed on two floors in ellipse around the old cobbled courtyard, which was thus converted into theatre orchestra.
Finally, in the early twentieth century with cinema revolution, a projection screen was installed to show movies, and as such it maintained its existence until the 70s of this century.
Abandoned for decades it ceased to be profitable for business activity and it was about to be demolished, but in the 80s began a slow and thorough restoration that lasted until 2003, when the Comedy Corral resurfaced by integrating harmoniously the three styles that marked all its previous history.
It's time to enter at the theatre. The musicians are playing a song composed by Luis Delgado. Silence, please!
And so, with this party of senses that is theatre and life, passion, madness and love, like said the singers in the music of the video, we leave Alcalá and go quickly to Madrid because this evening we have an appointment in an incredible place.
But before, we want to offer you some fotographs. In the old and pleasant city of Alcalá.
Thanks to Julia García Maza and Yolanda Ruiz Esteban, administratives in National Library and librarians, we could visit one of the most emblematic places of Spanish culture: the National Library, that was established in 1980 as the State Repository of Spain's Cultural Memory. In accordance with its Articles of Association, its principal functions are to:
• Compile, catalogue and conserve bibliographic archives produced in any language of the Spanish state, or any other language, for the purposes of research, culture and information.
• Promote research through the study, loan and reproduction of its bibliographic archive.
• Disseminate information on Spain's bibliographic output based on the entries received through the legal deposit requirement
The library's collection consists of more than 26,000,000 items, including 15,000,000 books and other printed materials, 30,000 manuscripts, 143,000 newspapers and serials, 4,500,000 graphic materials, 510,000 music scores, 500,000 maps, 600,000 sound recording, 90,000 audiovisuals, 90,000 electronic documents, more than 500,000 microforms, etc.
Stairs and main entrance with monuments to San Isidoro, Alonso Berruguete, Alfonso X el Sabio, in front, by José Alcoverro. At the back, and from right to left, monuments to Cervantes, Lope de Vega, Juan Luis Vives and Nebrija.
We could see the permanent exhibition, that deals with the history of books and writing. Also, of course, we could get some photographs on the stairs.
Day 8. Friday, April 26.
9.30 h. Work in the "Joaquín Leguina" library again.
Our students were still working like a dog, all the morning.
The Museo del Prado is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It features one of the world's finest collections of European art, from the 12th century to the early 19th century, based on the former Spanish Royal Collection, and unquestionably the best single collection of Spanish art. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture, it also contains important collections of other types of works. A new, recently opened wing enlarged the display area by about 400 paintings, and it is currently used mainly for temporary expositions. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered to be among the greatest museums of art.
We had chosen only some specific works to study those periods that interested us: Renaissance painting and Baroque painting. Explanations were given by Juan Carlos Frías and Antonio Sánchez. And it was a very intense afternoon surrounded by some of the most beautiful beings who have been able to create the imagination of man.
We leave you a video of our visit. A guitarist plays regularly at the museum entrance. And he interprets, among others, the song you are about to hear. "Recuerdos de la Alhambra" by Tárrega, played by Ana Vidovic.
Day 9. Saturday, April 27.
9.00 h. We meet in the transport hub at the Plaza Elíptica to catch a bus to Toledo.
We are a little tired, but it´s the last day and we have a party at night. We must survive!
No need to say anything about this city. It's as world famous as Alexandria, Istanbul, Rome and Babylon. Well, our intention was not to see or museums or exhibitions in Toledo. The previous day we had been to the Prado Museum and we suffered some artistic overdose. I told Manolo Palencia, our guide in Toledo, we wanted a walk through the streets, a journey through the life of the capital of the Habsburgs.
Neighborhoods, prisons, convents, inns, humble houses and palaces, churches, Jewish quarters, workshops, monasteries, small squares, narrow streets, synagogues, hospitals, cobbled hills, studded doors, gigantic buildings, brick towers and tiled roofs, balconies and latticed windows, shields and crests, monumental arches, beauty and power everywhere... In short, the New York of the sixteenth century.
Do you want to walk with us through the streets of Toledo? We will only hear music on one occasion, because we're going to find a spectacular performer. The rest of the walk we will be content with the sound of the streets, birds, explanations of Manolo Palencia, students talking nonsenses...
We started climbing toward Zocodover Square, the heart of the imperial city.
Nearby it is located the "Hospital de la Santa Cruz", the only building that we will visit this morning. It is a jewel of "Plateresque Gothic" and contains the best art exhibition of Toledo from all eras: Iberians, Romans, Visigoths, Arabs, Jews, Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Christians... Of course, the Hospital also houses paintings by El Greco, the universal painter of Toledo. The facade, the cloister and the stairs are an architectural group of the first magnitude.
Then we start our way to the Cathedral, passing through the streets of palaces and large churches. The stately Toledo.
At a corner of the Cathedral we find a woman sitting playing a strange instrument. She is Ana Alcaide, the best performer of Sephardic music of Toledo, and is playing her nyckelharpa, as they do many mornings, with old Jewish melodies filling the air of the streets.
Ana usually acts with a good friend of ours, Bill Cooley, who is luthier and plays the lute, psaltery and tambourines. In the following video we will see a performance of them in the "Tránsito" Synagogue, the most visited and delightful place of the Jewish city; after, some pictures of Bill playing their instruments; and finally, a video with Ana Alcaide singing in the alleyways and gardens of Toledo. Give yourselves and enjoy!
Psaltery
Lute
In the afternoon we wanted to end the visit touring the districts of the monasteries and convents. At sunset we found a small square with a sculpture. A lovely place from whose viewpoint you could see the fields. The sculpture was really a monument to one of the greatest men born in Toledo: Garcilaso de la Vega, the soldier, the traveler, the scholar, the musician, the poet. He brought the Italian sonnet, and not leave this country ever. We parted with some verses of this gentleman who was able to use the pen as well as the sword. Or maybe better.
Escrito está en mi alma vuestro gesto, y cuanto yo escribir de vos deseo; vos sola lo escribisteis, yo lo leo tan solo, que aun de vos me guardo en esto.
En esto estoy y estaré siempre puesto; que aunque no cabe en mí cuanto en vos veo, de tanto bien lo que no entiendo creo, tomando ya la fe por presupuesto.
Yo no nací sino para quereros; mi alma os ha cortado a su medida; por hábito del alma mismo os quiero.
Cuanto tengo confieso yo deberos; por vos nací, por vos tengo la vida, por vos he de morir, y por vos muero.
Sonnet V (Garcilaso de la Vega)
21.00 h. Plaza de los Mostenses. Farewell dinner. Da Niccola Restaurant. Smiles and tears. Smart guys and pretty girls. Gifts and Acknowledgements. Until next year and maybe forever.
Maria, the Austrian representative to the Spanish court – and Margaret of the Cross, Maria's daughter – along with queen Margaret, were a powerful Catholic and pro-Austrian faction in the court of Philip III of Spain. This is the portrait of Margaret the nun, also buried at the convent, as her mother.
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Afterwards, we go to Santa Ana square, where is situated the Spanish Theatre ("Teatro Español"). If you want to know something about it, look at this page:
Day 4. Monday, April 22.
Alcalá de Henares has a rich religious heritage. One of the most important is the closure of the Cistercian Convent of San Bernardo, founded in 1613, aiming at a Cistercian community of nuns, popularly called “Bernardine” . The patron of the work was the Cardinal and Archbishop of Toledo Bernardo de Sandoval y Rojas (1599-1618), great supporter of artists and writers (Lope de Vega, Quevedo, Góngora and Cervantes).
Escrito está en mi alma vuestro gesto,
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