Plaza de Oriente information - Madrid tourism - Spain
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MADRID Information: PLAZA DE ORIENTE |
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It is worth going by the side of the Royal Theatre from here, along Felipe V Street. where the ancient Alabardero tavern stands, to see the wide, tree-lined Oriente Square stretching in front of the main facade of the palace. An ambitious reform prqject turned the square into a large, airy space, which hides one of the lookouts belonging to the Arab wall on the first floor of the underground car park. Oriente Square was created on the orders of Joseph Bonaparte, who wanted to build up the area in keeping with the surroundings of the Royal Palace. He had to pull down some mediaeval houses and use the large grounds known as the Huerto de la Priora, belonging to the Encarnacion convent. Later, in the reign of I sabel II, the square was redesigned, with the equestrian statue of Felipe IV being placed in the centre, in 1843.This had been made on the express wish of the queen, and based on a portrait Velazquez had made of him which was hanging in the Buen Retiro Palace. The other white stone statues lining the gardens in the square used to be on the cornices of the palace together with even more that are now distributed throughout the city. Some people say that the irrational decision to bring them down to earth had something to do with a dream that Isabel de Farnese. the widow of Felipe V. had. Undoubtedly influenced by the Lisbon earthquake of 1755, which destroyed the city. she saw a great earthquake bring all the stautes in the palace tumbling down and crush to death the crowds of people below. The statue of Felipe IV The statue of Felipe IV, also known as 'the four geniuses', is the first equestrian statue ever recorded where the horse is in the corvette position, that is, standing on its hind legs. This feat of balance was cast by the Florentine, Pietro Tacca, who had to ask Galileo Galilei for advice. The problem was solved by making the front part of the horse hollow, and the rear part solid to ensure stability. Pietro Tacca based his work on designs by the painter Diego Velazquez, although the bust of the king was sculpted by Martinez Montañes. |
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