Our early evening flight back to Portugal affords us one more day in Madrid (pop 3,506,730 in 2025). We spend the morning in the the Plaza Mayor. The "Estatua de Felipe III"is still surrounded by the setup for the Fiestas de San Isidro Labrador.
Then, we head to the Arzobispado de Madrid, with the facade at the east transept of the Catedral next door.
We have plenty of time to explore the interior of the Catedral de Santa María la Real de la Almudena (Francisco de Cubas González-Montes, 1883-1993). The tour begins in the Museo de la Catedral (no photos allowed – highlights here), which includes access to the Balcón, where we find statues of "Los Cuatro Evangelistas" (San Mateo, San Marcos, San Lucas, and San Juan (José Luis Parés, late 20th century) and the stained-glass panel of the "Ymagen de Maria Santisima de la Almudena".
From the Balcón, stairs lead to the Cúpula, past a model of the proposed original Neo-Gothic design (c1883) by Francisco de Cubas (Marqués de Cubas).
The Cúpula looks shockingly fresh, with a burst of golden stars and crisp, saturated colors. Outside, the views are amazing from the upper parapet. Evocative statues of "Los Doce Apóstoles" (2001) by Luis Sanguino stand at the edge; to our left we recognize San Bartolomé (with flaying knife & skin) and Santiago el Mayor (with pilgrim's staff & water gourd).
From the north side of the Cúpula, we can see the back of the "Monumento de la Virgen de la Almudena" along with statues of San Fernando, Santa Teresa de Jesús, Santa María de la Cabeza, San Isidro Labrador (Ramón Chaparro, 1956) across the front.
With the bronze saints facing out, we cannot identify them until we make our way back around to San Bartolomé, still holding onto his shroud of skin. Here at the south balustrade, we enjoy excellent views to the Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande (Francisco Cabezas, cúpula by Antonio Pló & fachada by Francesco Sabatini, late 18th century) before descending again from the Cúpula.
In this stairway there is another model with the Neoclassical-style design (Fernando Chueca Goitia & Carlos Sidro, c1944) to better harmonize with the Palacio Real – the model predates the "Monumento" and the four saints.
The interior is clean and vibrant. Our tour begins under the Coro, as our eyes follow the rainbow geometries into the vaulted ceiling and the Altar Mayor to the south. Though the exterior may have absorbed the twentieth-century classical, the interior retains the nineteenth-century Gothic, just with a contemporary flair.
Walking down the nave and turning, we realize that the stained-glass panel we saw on the Balcón, the "Ymagen de Maria Santisima de la Almudena", is hidden behind an enormous organ in the Coro.
The second capilla on the left (west, Evangelist side) dedicated to Santa Ángela de la Cruz. Opposite, on the right side (east, Epistle) is the Capilla de Santa Josefa del Sagrado Corazon. These two are typical of the pared-back decorative scheme: a tripartite Gothic stained-glass window with hexafoil rosetón, a triumphal altarpiece with central sculptural niche, and a simple elements on the sides (thurifers, dedication plaques).
Walking into the crossing and up to the chancel, we get the full effect of the painted Cúpula as well as the Altar Mayor – rich colors within a bare stone framework and just enough gold sparkle. To our left is the interior of the eastern transept entrance, which is behind the facade we saw on our approach, with the rectangular glass panel of "Santa Maria de Atocha". And to our right is the "Altar Elevado" (Juan de Borgoña, late 15th century) for "La Virgen de la Almudena" the original carved, polychromed wooden idol of La Virgen con el Niño.
The retablo includes eighteen panels illustrating the lives of Jesús and María. The glass panel above the altar depicts "La Santísima Trinidad con Corona". The stair leading to the altar turns at a deep arched landing, which holds the tomb of Reina María de las Mercedes, wife of Alfonso XII, who died in 1878 and asked to be buried "a los pies de la Virgen". The altar for the La Virgen de la Almudena perhaps explains the unorthodox north-south orientation of the Catedral, as the east-west axis is used to honor the patrona de la ciudad.
The radial chapels around the ambulatory continue the general theme of modest decoration, though darker and with standing statues, such as the Capilla de Monseñor Escrivá de Balaguer and the Capilla de la Beata Mariana de Jesús (two on the right, Epistle side), the Capilla de Santa María Micaela, and the Capilla de Nuestra Señora de la Vida Mística (two on the left, Evangelist side).
We emerge into east transept but make one last stop as the La Capilla de San Juan Pablo II (Benjamín Cano, 2019) which houses the unexpected installation of a Crucifijo set within radiating, light-toned wooden slats; it is set in a part of the former Capilla Bautismal. San Juan Pablo II is the pope who consecrated the Catedral in 1993. This brings the artistic heritage of the Catedral to the present day.
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