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The Plaza de Oriente is situated to the eastern
side of the Palacio Real and takes its name from the
fact that it faces eastwards towards the Oriente.
The plaza was originally planned by Joseph
Bonaparte as part of of much larger development. But
Joseph never managed to complete the grander plan,
leaving only the Plaza part completed.
The majority of the plaza was laid out in 1844
and opened to the public in 1850 during the reign of
Isabel II. It has been used for a variety of state
occasions. During Franco's dictatorship he delivered
many of his speeches to crowds in the Plaza de
Oriente. |
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The central statue is of king Philip
IV on horseback. This was the first bronze statue
ever created where the horse was standing only on
its hind legs rather than on all four legs. This
posed a problem for Pietro Tacca who designed the
statue because he feared it would not be stable.
He enlisted the help of none other than the
eminent Italian Galileo Galieli. He advised that the
statue could be made stable if the rear part of the
horse was constructed from solid bronze, with the
front part being hollow. A very neat solution! |
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To the left is a picture of some of
the 44 statues which surround the plaza. The statues
are of various famous kings who ruled the area in
the past. Look a little more carefully at the
statues and it is clear that they are rather
stunted! The reason for this is that they were
originally intended to be mounted on much taller
plinths and then be mounted around the Palacio Real.
The architects then decided that their weight would
be too heavy for the intended site and left them in
the Plaza de Oriente (view on the right). |
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The Plaza de Oriente has beautiful
gardens which are well worth a visit. At night the
whole area is beautifully lit up with views of the
Palacio Real. Take a drink at the cafe overlooking
the plaza in the evening and you are certain to be
entertained by free music in the square in front.
This is Madrid at its very best and not to be
missed. |
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