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Gate of Madrid

Alcalá de Henares, Cuenca del Henares, Madrid

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Gate of Madrid

Monument · Alcalá de Henares, Cuenca del Henares, Madrid

The Puerta de Madrid (Madrid Gate) stands on Calle Andrés Saborit in Alcalá de Henares, where the traditional route to the capital used to enter the town. It was inaugurated on 4 December 1788 to replace a narrow, bent medieval gate, with the works paid for by Cardinal Lorenzana, Archbishop of Toledo, and directed by the architect Antonio Juana Jordán. It takes the form of a neoclassical stone triumphal arch in three sections: the central one, taller, with a round arch between giant Doric pilasters and a triangular pediment, and the lower side sections with lintelled openings; it preserves the inscription to Archbishop Lorenzana and another to the reign of Charles III and the year 1788. It is considered the last work of Alcalá's architectural splendour.

Photo: Raimundo Pastor (CC BY-SA 4.0)

What to see and do in Alcalá de Henares