If this is Thursday it must be postcards, 361

Alcalá Gate, Madrid, Spain

This postcard was one several that my son and his wife sent to me from their recent trip to Portugal and Spain.  The photograph was taken by Miguel Corazón and shows the Alcalá Gate in Madrid.  The card was printed in Spain by Producido por Grupo LK of Madrid. 

Madrid was a walled city and as the city population grew and the city expanded newer walls became necessary.  The walls were not for the defense of the city but more to control trade in and out of the city, to ensure collection of taxes and to monitor who went in and out of the city.  The Walls of Philip IV replaced the Walls of Philip II and surrounded Madrid from 1625 to 1868.  The walls were built of brick, mortar and compacted earth.  Persons exiting the city would have to pass through gates where taxes were paid.  There were five royal gates that would stay open until 10 pm in the winter and 11 pm in the winter.   People entering or leaving the city after hours through a royal  gate would have to be admitted through a checkpoint.  The fourteen smaller gates or portillos opened at dawn, closed at sunset and remained closed overnight. 

Charles III commissioned the gate shown on the card in 1774 and Francesco Sabatini the Italian (1721-1797) architect was selected to design it.  Older than the Arc de Triomphe in Paris and the Brandenburg Gate in Berlin the Alcalá Gate is regarded as the first modern post-Roman triumphal arch built in Europe.  The gate was built in 1778.  Before this magnificent arch was built the city is said to have looked like a drab borough surrounded by medieval walls. 

Today remnants of the old walls can be seen in a couple of places, the retaining wall of the Jardine de Las Vistillas and near the fire station of Ronda de Segovia by the Puerta de Toledo roundabout.  Neither is in good condition but there is a commemorative plaque by the Ronda de Segovia. 

In 2001 Madrid was named the World Book Capital.  In honor of the event the monument gardens were added near the gate and night-lights were installed. 


For more information, see:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puerta_de_Alcalá
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Philip_IV
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francesco_Sabatini