We are going to visit Saint Francis the Great, very close to La Latina and the Royal Palace. It is a neoclassical style building that occupies the space of an old Franciscan convent from the 1760th century. That convent was demolished and the current basilica was built in 1784 with a project that was completed in XNUMX by the royal architect. Francisco Sabatini.

Its construction was complex, initially it was thought of Ventura RodríguezFinally, he took charge of the work Francisco Cabezas, a Franciscan who raised the base of the building. He had to stop when Academy of Fine Arts ruled that the walls built would not be able to support the immense 33-meter projected dome. Antonio Pló  He managed to close the dome in 1770, but lack of money stopped the work again. Between 1776 and 1784, the works that completed the temple were undertaken under the direction of Francisco Sabatini, helped by Miguel Fernández. Carlos III He attended the inauguration mass celebrated on December 6, 1784, 23 years since the beginning of the works.

Especially striking is the dome, the largest in Spain and the fourth in Europe. After that of Saint Peter's Basilica and the Pantheon of Agrippa, in Rome, and Santa María del Fiore, in Florence. Its uses have been very varied: church, hospital, powder magazine, warehouse for religious objects, the first attempt at a national pantheon and museum. Meanwhile the convent was used as a military barracks and prison. In 1962 it was converted into a basilica.

Its interior is an authentic museum of enormous artistic wealth. It contains some canvases that are authentic works of art, an authentic art gallery, paintings of Goya, Maella, Moreno Carbonero, Muñoz Degrain, Ferrant...

A surprise in the heart of Madrid.

A abrazo.