Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Plaza Mayor, Madrid
DAVID TOMLINSON
The plaza's first public ceremony was the beatification of San Isidro Labrador,
Madrid's patron saint. Thereafter, bullfights watched by 50,000 spectators were a
recurring spectacle until 1878, while the autos-da-fé (the ritual condemnation of
heretics) of the Spanish Inquisition also took place here. Fire largely destroyed the
square in 1790, but it was rebuilt and became an important market and hub of city
life. Today, the uniformly ochre-tinted apartments with wrought-iron balconies are
offset by the exquisite frescoes of the 17th-century
Real Casa de la Panadería
(Royal Bakery); the present frescoes were added in 1992.
PALACIO REAL
Royal Palace
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