Madrid

By: Kenneth Durfee &
Anthony Parlotto

 

Location

Madrid is located in the center of Spain, right above Toledo .

Province and City

    One of the things that you must know is how to differentiate the Province, now called Comunidad in Spanish and used to be called Provincia, from the other Madrid, the City government. You can distinguish the institutions of the City government by the red flag with seven stars. Although the province has existed since 1833, the Community of Madrid was institutionalized in 1983, after a prolific amount of debate, in which the two Castles, the Castilla la Mancha and Castilla-Leon, seemed to reject the inclusion of Spain's capital in their communities. This would have caused a considerable amount of institutional problems with all the expenses that this endeavor would entail.
Area


     When looking at a map of the Province of Madrid, you'll see it is almost an equilateral triangle, in whose center would be the city. It seems that Madrid's geographic limits turn out to be those of nature: on the western side the "Central System", the Sierra de Guadarrama mountains, the south represents the desire to include the Royal Site of Aranjuez and finally the eastern edge of the triangle comes from the rupture of the fluvial river basins.

      The Province of Madrid occupies a surface area of approximately 8,028 km2, which is 1.6% of all Spanish territory. Being more specific the exact position of Spain is 40º 24´30´´ of longitude west of Greenwich, England.
 

Altitude
    Practically all of the Province is located between 600 and 1,000m above sea level, with the highest point being Penalara at 2,430m and the lowest Alberche en Villa del Prado at 430m. Other considerable heights, as well as being famous, are the Ball of the World, in Navacerrada, at a height of 2,258m and the seven peaks, in Cercedilla, at 2,138m.

El Prado Museo
The Museum

    The El Prado Museum is one of  the best in the world. The El Prado Museum holds more than 10,000 pieces of art; paintings, sculptures, furniture, jewelry, and even a whole sanctuary, the the over 3,000 pieces which it lends of different expositions all over Spain from the 6th century to the most renown 19th century pieces. Such as the paintings below.
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The Royal Palace of the Borbons

     We assure you that this palace is no country house! With 870 windows, 240 balconies, 44 sets of stairs and 110 doors, it maintains its janitors pretty busy during the week. The building occupies a square area of 135,000 meters. For the inside of the Palace, you should take more than one day to visit and really take in its beauty. Even though the Spanish Royal family does not live there anymore, it is still use for official acts of state as well as special ceremonies.
It is not only the size of the rooms, but also the tapestries and frescoes which adorn the Palace and which have been done by master artists. There are walls covered with red velvet lined with silver. The tapestries come from the Royal Factory of Tapestries.


 
 
 
 

Bullfighting

    Bullfighting is certainly one of the best known activities, although at the same time it's the most popular Spanish custom. This Fiesta could not exist without the Toro Bravo, a species of bull of an archaical race that is only conserved in Spain. Formerly this bull's forebears were spread out over wide parts of the world. Many civilizations revered to them, the bull-cultus at the Greek island Creta is quite well known. The Bible reports on sacrifices of bulls in honor to the divine justice. Also in the religious ceremonies of Iberian tribes living in Spain in pre historical times bulls played an important part. The origins of the Plaza, bullring, probably are not the Roman amphitheaters but the Celt Iberian temples where those ceremonies were held.

El Escorial

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This famous monastery which Philip II had built 50 kilometers out of Madrid is of course a must to see for any visitor to Spain's capital. It was constructed during 21 years by architects Juan Bautista de Toledo and Juan de Herrera and impresses by its gigantic measures and its austere style. Among the mayor attractions are the main chapel, Capilla Mayor, the Pantheon with the kings' tombs, the Throne Hall and the museum in the summer palace of Philip II. From Madrid you arrive to the nearby village San Lorenzo del Escorial by train each hour.

La Fiesta de Spain

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     The inhabitants of Madrid call their city La Villa, and in many quarters there are still traditions of a time before all those villages melted together into Spain's capital. The celebrations of New Year, anyhow, are spectacular. Up to 40 millions of people flock together at Puerta del Sol. In the rhythm of the beats of the big clock at midnight, everybody tries to eat twelve grapes. That shall bring good luck for the coming year, and all the Spaniards who are not there, watch the event on TV. After midnight, all the city becomes a great big party.

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    There are several traditional cafés in Madrid, many of them decorated in the style of La Belle Epoque, and when the cold wind is blowing outside you may want to check out if there are still artists and writers meeting in them. On hot summer nights there is hardly something better than to have a drink in one of the many beautiful terraces, where you will find people until late in the night. In Paseo de la Castellana meet the beautiful people and all those who think they are, specially between Cuzco and Paseo del Prado. In Gran Via, on the other hand, you'll see representants of any kind of society that exists in Madrid, from middle aged couples to vagabonds.

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Regional Food

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There are many dishes of lamb and veal, but - perhaps a bit surprising considering its geographic location Madrid is a real paradise for the lovers of any kind of fish. It has the second biggest fish market in the world because of Tokyo, and as well in shops as in many Restaurants you will find an ample selection and extraordinary quality. Ideally fitting to such a meal are the young and aromatic wines from the region, Vinos de Madrid. To  finish your dinner in a very typical way, try a cup of Anisado de Chinchon, anisette schnapps.
 
 

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Questions?





1. Where is Madrid located?
2. Name one popular activity in Madrid?
3. Name one popular food in Madrid?
4. How many pieces of art are located in the El Prado Museo?
5. In what provence is Madrid?

Reference list

Internet Red 2000, S.L.(2000). All About Spain.
http://www.red2000.com/spain/ (12/4/2000)
2000 Lycos Inc. Lycos Travel. Lycos City Guide Madrid.
http://search.lycos.com/travel/destinations/?query=madrid (12/8/2000)


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