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El Campo Del Moro is a city garden in Spanish in Madrid . Declared a historic-artistic interest in 1931 , occupies a surface of about 20 acres, extending from east to west, from the western facade of the Palacio Real to the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto. From north to south with its boundaries set by the Cuesta de San Vicente (north side) and the Cuesta de la Vega and the Park of Athens (south side).

The gardens save a steep slope, caused by the ravine between the palace and the banks of the Manzanares River . Were drawn in 1844by architect Narciso PascualY Colomer, who devised a formal set, while landscaping works could not be carried out until the end of the 19th century . These were given by Ramon Oliva, which altered the original concept through an approach romantic .

It is one of the three gardens that adorn the halls environment Palacio Real , but, unlike the other two (the Sabatini Gardens and the Plaza de Oriente ), their management is not the City of Madrid, but National Heritage , a body which depend on possessions that were in the hands of the Spanish Crown .

Place Names

Land located between the Royal Palace and the valley of the Manzanares River were only known as the Campo del Moro from the 19th century . It comes from the promoters of the gardens, who, looking for a name, they turned to historical episodes.

The fact that reference was taken as the attack on the city starring Be Yusuf Ali Muslim leader who, in 1109 , attempted to retake the square of Madrid , in the hands of Christians. Presumably, had camped with his troops at the site now stands the whole garden.

History

Background

The idea of building a playground in the spot now occupied by the Campo del Moro is prior to the building of the Palacio Real de Madrid .The first attempts came in times of Felipe II ( 1527 – 1,598 ), who commissioned a project to bridge the gap between the Real Alcazar , in which the palace was erected solar current, and the hollow of the Manzanares River . However, such an initiative could not be implemented.

Later, Philip IV ( 1 605 – one thousand six hundred sixty-five ), who used the place for hunting, ordered the planting of different tree species, mostly elms .

With the construction of Royal Palace , whose construction began in 1738 , four years after the fire of Alcazar , was performed numerous site management plans, which could not materialize due to the scarcity of water, the difficulties offered by the terrain and the absence of economic resources.

This is the case of projects promoted by the kings Philip V ( 1,683 – 1 746 ) and Carlos III ( 1 716 – 1788 ), commissioned from different architects of the palace ( Juan Bautista Sachetti , Francisco Sabatini and Ventura Rodríguez ) and Spanish outfielder Esteban Boutelou .The latter, backed by his experience in front of the gardens of Aranjuez ( Madrid ) and La Granja de San Ildefonso ( Segovia ), devised two classic design layouts 1746 and 1747 , very difficult to execute, since it is not fully adapted to the topographic characteristics of the soil.

Instead, it could be done to design the architect Juan de Villanueva ( 1,739 – 1,811 ), with whom he was connected, through an artificial grotto, the Royal Palace to the gardens of the Casa de Campo , on the other side of Manzanares River .
It was excavated in 1810 during the reign of Joseph I , a year before the death of Villanueva. In 1891 underwent a renovation, which consisted of installing rock garden as an ornamental. There are still several sections of this corridor, located the most relevant, in the Campo del Moro own and under the old Camino de Castilla.

Plot final

The final impetus for the realization of the gardens took place in 1844 , when Agustín Argüelles Álvarez ( 1776 – 1884 ), tutor to Queen Elizabeth II during his minority, and Martin de los Heros ( 1783 – 1859 ), mayor of the Royal Heritage, commissioned the architect of the palace, Narciso Pascual y Colomer ( 1 808 – 1,870 ), a new design.
Said architect, who was also the layout of the Plaza de Oriente , planned as a focal point building a great avenue between the Royal Palace and the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto. This not only saved the steep slope, but enhanced the view of the western facade of the building. To level the ground, were used, among other materials, debris from the churches and homes demolished during the expansion of the Puerta del Sol .

The importance of this axis was underlined with the installation of two monumental fountains that of the shells , brought from the palace of the Infante Don Luis ( Boadilla del Monte , Madrid ), and the Tritons , which was the original site of the Island Garden ( Aranjuez , Madrid).

The works of the gardens were suspended after the triumph of the revolution of 1868 , known as The Glorious and the subsequent exile ofIsabella II . Could resume in the last decade of the nineteenth century , during the regency of Maria Cristina of Hapsburg , when it came to planting approximately 9,500 trees (including 400 palm trees) and 20,800 shrubs (of which 12,000 were roses), under the Ramon Oliva gardener’s address.

In 1898 the premises were built in various wooden houses, made in style Tyrolean . Must be the architect and gardener Mary Repullés Enrique , who also designed the decoration of the grotto designed by Juan de Villanueva .
During the Spanish Civil War ( 1 936 – one thousand nine hundred and thirty-nine ), the Campo del Moro suffered significant damage. It was restored in the forties of the twentieth century and in 1960 , built a new building inside, which is home to the Carriage Museum in Madrid .

Description

The gardens are echoed in the layout of various schools, the result of the vicissitudes that occurred during different phases of its construction. Hence, it does not possess similar characteristics and combine styles as diverse as the formalism (found on the main promenade, designed by Pascual y Colomer) or naturalism (which chairs the paths designed by Ramón Oliva).
The mixture of influences is also visible in the buildings housing the enclosure, with allusions to rural models (such as houses Tyroleandevised by Repullés), the neo-Gothic architecture or functional (the case of building Carriage Museum , designed by architect Ramon Andrada ).

From the point of view of the landscape, dominated by trees, set up following the likes romantic at the time, that join landscape touches English, if the Prairies of the Sun Views.

Gateways

El Campo del Moro is rectangular. Its perimeter is enclosed by a wall of white stone and brick, on which rests a wrought iron fence. Its eastern side has no access, in the face of the embankments on which sit the Sabatini Gardens , the Royal Palace , the Armory Square and the Cathedral de la Almudena .

It has only three entries, located on the other side: one in the Cuesta de San Vicente (north), another in the Cuesta de la Vega (south) and the main Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto (west). None of them has artistic value of special interest, beyond the decorative elements, such as different artistic vases.

The first two doors, restricted access, are interconnected by a longitudinal ride, located at the upper garden at the foot of the Royal Palace . This avenue runs through the halls of the Fountain of the Tritons , the stove or Camelias Big Pond and Waterfall, whose visit is not open to the public. The lower zone of the Campo del Moro really is open access at specific times through the door of the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto.

Central axis

This is because Narciso Pascual y Colomer, who conceived a great ride, following the east-west, communicate directly Royal Palace with the banks of the Manzanares River . This avenue, known as the Plains of the Views of the Sun, was the centerpiece of a path Hippodamus , articulated from a series of parallel and perpendicular walks, whose crosses are available in small squares circular or semicircular.

In its design could only be cited avenue effect, that from the urban point of view, is the most important part of the site, to ensure the panorama of the palace through a proper distribution of the ground levels. It is flanked by trees and has a wide median, landscaped with prairie arranged in two sections and guarded on both sides by an earth walk.
The draft Pascual y Colomer includes the installation of two monumental fountains that are currently located at the top and middle of the main shaft:

Fountain of the Tritons

It rises at the foot of the western facade of the palace on the highest point of the avenue and around the campus. It was built in Italy in the seventeenth century (or probably in the late 16th century ) and moved to Spain in 1656 , the year in which Philip IV ordered the installation at Garden Island ( Aranjuez , Madrid ). In 1846 it was placed in its present location. Carved in marble white, takes its name from the four sculptures of mythological Tritons located at its base.

Fuente de las Conchas

Designed  for  because it is e the last third of the 18th century , by Ventura Rodriguez . He decorated the gardens of the Palacio del Infante Don Luis ( Boadilla del Monte , Madrid )-owned by Luis Antonio de Borbón y Farnese – until his transfer to the Campo del Moro in the nineteenth century , where it occupies the center of the avenue. It was sculpted by Francisco Gutiérrez Arribas and Manuel Alvarez Greek. Like the Fountain of the Tritons , these mythological characters are their main reason. It is also done in marble white.

Other rides

The remaining trips are made by Ramón Oliva. Responding to a model romantic , far removed from formal schemes, grid, Pascual y Colomer. They have irregular layouts, with plenty of curves. There are also many half-hidden paths, alternative routes and shortcuts, in line with the tastes landscape of romance . Is the case in the ways of the Four Keys and Strings.

One can only derogate from the Paseo de Damas, heir to the design Hippodamus Pascual y Colomer. Start near the Cuesta de San Vicente and ends at the Plaza de la Reina Maria Cristina of Hapsburg, located at the southern end of the enclosure. It follows a north-south and cross the prairies to the Views of the Sun in the confluence of the aforementioned latches Fuente de las Conchas .
The Plantain Walk, named for the plant species that dominates the route, model exemplifies the romantic above. Its origin is near the entrance to the Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto, where it takes a southeasterly direction, forming a wide curve and passing feet of the Almudena Cathedral . Connects with the Ladies Walk through the Forest of the Cup, which owes its name to a tree of considerable size, which amongst others.

Buildings of interest

In addition to sources of the Prairies of the Sun Views, Campo del Moro has other buildings of historical interest. The age and technical complexity, deserves special mention is the cave of Juan de Villanueva , whose access is installed under the stairs at the entrance of Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto.

Numerous ornamental motifs, which include different artistic vases, flower beds , ponds, rockeries , small fonts (like the Almendrita), avian and sculptures (statues case of Isabel II and Francis of Assisi of Bourbon ). Many of these elements are located in remote sites, following the guidelines scenic romantic .

Among the buildings, highlight the large stove or Camelias, the Chalet of the Cork and Queen’s cottage, the latter two made in wood by Repullés late nineteenth century . In the second half of the twentieth century dates the Carriage Museum , arranged in hexagonal modules, with which its architect, Ramon Andrada, foresaw possible extensions. It houses a varied collection of carriages, which belonged to the Spanish Crown . Calls Black Chariot ( XVII century ), Chair of Carlos III ( XVIII century ) and the Crown Saloon ( XIX century ) are among the most relevant pieces.

Plant and animal species

The gardens are inhabited by 70 species of trees. Some specimens have more than 150 years, if an Aleppo pine that is over 30 meters high. Also characterized by their age and size a pine tree , a sequoia and two yews .
In the Campo del Moro live numerous birds , comprising species characteristic of the parks, like the peacock , the pheasant , the doveand pigeon .

Panoramas

El Campo del Moro is located at the foot of the founding nucleus of Madrid . The origin of this city dates back to the ninth century , when a Muslim fortress was built atop a hill, under which stood a great rock, which provided his defense.

Despite the leveling of the land from which the compound object is located mainly in the 19th century , the steep slope that still exists allows one to view different scenarios, which are among the most characteristic of the Madrid skyline . The most famous is that of the western facade of the Palacio Real , the contemplation of which is underlined by the longitudinal layout of the Prairies of the Sun Views.

Less known are the views of the Catedral de la Almudena and the western arch of the Armory Square, which are almost hidden by leafy trees overlooking the southern part of the garden. Still, the Paseo de Bananas offers different views of this monumental.

From the highest part of the Campo del Moro (that is, from its eastern side), it is possible to see almost all of the gardens and the forest area of the Casa de Campo , which extends beyond the right margin of Manzanares River, through the Puente del Rey .

Schedule

WINTER

(October-March): Monday to Saturday from 10.00 to 18.00 hours – Sunday and holidays from 9.00 to 18.00

SUMMER

(April to September): Monday to Saturday from 10.00 to 20.00 hours – Sunday and holidays from 9.00 to 20.00

Closed: When events are held official – 1 and January 6 – 1 and May 15 – October 12 – November 9 – 24, 25 and December 31