Spain - Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid - Plaza de Cibeles
The delimitation of the zone coincides on the west, north and east with the former Real Sitio del Buen Retiro, created by Philip IV in the first third of the 17th century.
As a consequence of various events that unfolded in the 19th century starting with the War of Independence, the old site lost an area of 20 hectares to the south. The part that was lost extends from the current limits of Retiro Park on Avenida de Menéndez y Pelayo, Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona, and reaches Calle Alfonso XII.
To the core zone there have been incorporated two monuments and urban areas. One of these is the old Hospital of San Carlos, designed by Francisco Sabatini, because it was one of the last buildings erected un-der Charles III, supplementing the enlightened renew-al of the monarchy in the 18th century and currently the home of the Reina Sofía Arts Centre, culminating the exceptional ensemble of museums along the Pa-seo del Prado. It houses one of the artistic icons of the 20th century, Picasso’s ‘Guernica’. It also includes the adjacent building of the Atocha railway station, a mag-nificent example of 19th century railway architecture in iron, a work of Alberto de Palacio, the author of the Viz-caya Bridge that is included in the World Heritage List.
The demarcation of the property, clockwise start-ing from the northwest, begins at Plaza de Cibeles, the northern boundary goes along Calle de Alcalá, including the Plaza de la Independencia and the Gate of Alcalá, it continues east along Avenida de Menéndez y Pelayo, then south along the outer limits of Retiro Park, coinciding with a number of streets (Esteban Vil-legas, Andrés Torrej6n, Luis Camoens, Agustín Querol, José Anselmo Clavé) and the limits of the Isabella the Catholic Institute and the Astronomic Observatory to Calle de Alfonso XII, then it continues south to incor-porate the old Atocha railway station to Calle de Mén-dez Álvaro and the old Hospital of St. Charles, and the western boundary runs along Calle del Hospital, Calle de Atocha and Paseo del Prado, including the old Pal-ace of Villahermosa, which is the home of the Thys-sen-Bornemisza Museum.
Spain - Site of the Retiro and the Prado in Madrid - Plaza de Cibeles
The delimitation of the zone coincides on the west, north and east with the former Real Sitio del Buen Retiro, created by Philip IV in the first third of the 17th century.
As a consequence of various events that unfolded in the 19th century starting with the War of Independence, the old site lost an area of 20 hectares to the south. The part that was lost extends from the current limits of Retiro Park on Avenida de Menéndez y Pelayo, Avenida Ciudad de Barcelona, and reaches Calle Alfonso XII.
To the core zone there have been incorporated two monuments and urban areas. One of these is the old Hospital of San Carlos, designed by Francisco Sabatini, because it was one of the last buildings erected un-der Charles III, supplementing the enlightened renew-al of the monarchy in the 18th century and currently the home of the Reina Sofía Arts Centre, culminating the exceptional ensemble of museums along the Pa-seo del Prado. It houses one of the artistic icons of the 20th century, Picasso’s ‘Guernica’. It also includes the adjacent building of the Atocha railway station, a mag-nificent example of 19th century railway architecture in iron, a work of Alberto de Palacio, the author of the Viz-caya Bridge that is included in the World Heritage List.
The demarcation of the property, clockwise start-ing from the northwest, begins at Plaza de Cibeles, the northern boundary goes along Calle de Alcalá, including the Plaza de la Independencia and the Gate of Alcalá, it continues east along Avenida de Menéndez y Pelayo, then south along the outer limits of Retiro Park, coinciding with a number of streets (Esteban Vil-legas, Andrés Torrej6n, Luis Camoens, Agustín Querol, José Anselmo Clavé) and the limits of the Isabella the Catholic Institute and the Astronomic Observatory to Calle de Alfonso XII, then it continues south to incor-porate the old Atocha railway station to Calle de Mén-dez Álvaro and the old Hospital of St. Charles, and the western boundary runs along Calle del Hospital, Calle de Atocha and Paseo del Prado, including the old Pal-ace of Villahermosa, which is the home of the Thys-sen-Bornemisza Museum.