Village
Navalcarnero is a town in the south of the Community of Madrid, 27 kilometres from the capital by motorway, on a landscape of plains, hills and ridges beneath which the town centre hides numerous man-made caves. The city of Segovia, in dispute over the ownership of these lands with the marquises of Moya and the commander Gonzalo Chacón, decided to found a new settlement here in late 1499, using as its seed six residents of nearby Perales. It has about 33,000 inhabitants. Philip IV married Mariana of Austria here in 1649, which earned it the title of Real; its arcaded Plaza de Segovia is a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection), and its wines give their name to the southwestern subzone of the Vinos de Madrid designation of origin.
Monument
Arcaded square built between 1579 and 1617, with wooden arcades on posts and continuous balconies; it was declared a Bien de Interés Cultural (Spain's highest level of heritage protection) in the historic site category by Decree 266/2000 and received the Europa Nostra Award in 2001.
Monument
Renaissance church of brick and rubble masonry that dominates the town's houses and was declared a Monumento Histórico-Artístico (Spain's heritage designation in force between 1931 and 1985) in 1982; together with the Plaza de Segovia it forms the most recognizable image of the Villa Real de Navalcarnero.
Monument
In the oratory of this house, on 7 October 1649, the nuptial blessing of Philip IV and his niece Mariana of Austria was celebrated; of the building only the doorway survives today, rebuilt in the 19th century, in the heart of the old town.
Curiosity
On 7 October 1649 Philip IV received the nuptial blessing with his niece Mariana of Austria in this town, with plays, bullfights and illuminations until the 9th; in gratitude, the king granted it the title of Villa Real on 4 June 1651.
Curiosity
On 10 October 1499 Hernán Pérez, representative of the council of Segovia, established here the first municipal government with two mayors and a constable, over a settlement begun by six households arrived from Perales.
Activity
Historical re-enactment declared a Festival of Regional Tourist Interest that in late summer turns the old town into a Golden Age market, with theater, music and equestrian displays around the royal wedding of 1649.
Activity
Navalcarnero gives its name to one of the subzones of the Vinos de Madrid Denomination of Origin, recognized in 1990; its wines are made above all from red garnacha and white malvar grapes and are tasted in the town's historic wineries.
Monument
It occupies a 19th-century brick and adobe winery beneath which opens a cave dug by hand more than three centuries ago, with Castilian vaults and arches; the route brings together vineyard tools, storage jars and implements for making and ageing wine.
Nature
A network of cellars was dug beneath the streets of the old town, keeping the wine at a constant temperature all year round; the town council has recovered several of these vaulted brick galleries and they can now be visited.
Monument
Founded in the late 16th century by Francisco de Lara, a knight of the Order of Santiago, it was bought and restored around the middle of the 19th by the court painter Juan Antonio de Ribera, who decorated it with canvases by himself and by his son Carlos Luis.
Monument
Built in 1588 on the Plaza de Segovia, the town council commissioned a thorough remodelling of it in late 1671 from the masters Francisco Lucas de Riaza and Lucas García; its ground floor now houses the town's tourist office.
Monument
It occupies a restored farmhouse of about a thousand square metres and spreads the town's history across ten themed spaces, from vine growing to the royal wedding blessing of 1649; the visit takes about an hour.
Monument
An open-air museum laid out along the Ronda de San Juan, displaying abstract iron pieces by the sculptor Feliciano Hernández (1938-2018); the walk is free to follow and turns the street into a gallery.
Curiosity
Born around 1654 and held to be a son of the town, this pupil of Claudio Coello trained in Rome and in 1688 was appointed painter to the king and later court painter to Carlos II; he died at the age of thirty-six.
Nature
A rise from which the town's rooftops can be taken in, and one of the more than a hundred and fifty spots the municipality has signposted; around it stretch some 2,500 hectares of vineyard dotted with olive groves, Aleppo pine and holm oak.
Historical milestone
The representative of the council of Segovia, Hernán Pérez, travelled to the place to choose its first town council. The new settlement remained under Segovian jurisdiction for one hundred and twenty-eight years, until it bought its town status in 1627.
Historical milestone
The king married his niece in the church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción, the most notable event in local history. In 1651 the monarch authorised the locality to call itself Villa Real de Navalcarnero.