Walls of Philip IV
The Walls of Felipe IV (Spanish: Real Cerca de Felipe IV) surrounded the city of Madrid between 1625 and 1868. Philip IV ordered the construction to replace the previous Walls, which had already been overtaken by the growing population of Madrid. They were not defensive walls, but essentially served a fiscal and surveillance purpose controlling the access of goods and people into and out of the city and facilitating the collection of excise duties. The materials used for construction were brick, mortar and compacted earth.
It was one of the five Walls that surrounded the city of Madrid at different times.[1]
Location
The line of the walls ran from the Cuesta de la Vega via the Rondas of Segovia, Toledo, Valencia and Atocha, Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, the avenues of Ciudad de Barcelona and Menéndez Pelayo, Calle de Alcalá, Plaza de la Independencia, the calles of Serrano, Jorge Juan, the Plaza de Colón, the calles of Génova, Sagasta, Carranza, then turning left via San Bernardo ran by Santa Cruz de Marcenado to the calles of Serrano Jover, la Princesa, Ventura Rodríguez, Ferraz, Cuesta de San Vicente, Paseo de la Virgen del Puerto and up along the Campo del Moro, and finally back to the Cuesta de la Vega.
History
By 1590 Madrid had outgrown the Walls of Philip II, because during the reign of Philip IV the population had tripled since the time of his grandfather. The plan for new walls dated from 1614 and Juan Gómez de Mora, chief architect of the King and the City Council was commissioned to carry out the project. Gómez de Mora marked the boundaries of the new walls in 1617 in a report that indicated that the various sections of the walls should be the work of master architects.
In 1625, Philip IV ordered the construction of further new walls using brick, mortar and compacted earth. The purpose of these walls was fiscal as they served to control the entry of products and food to the city, to ensure that duties were paid, and to monitor people entering Madrid. To fund the project a sisa (tax) was applied on wine. Sections of the walls were built in separate sectors of the city, and in each section was placed either a main gate or a smaller gate (portillo). The gates and portillos took the names of nearby buildings. The route of the walls was adapted to the terrain, which made it very irregular. By 1650 it included the Montaña del Príncipe Pío, the Buen Retiro and the hermitage of Atocha. Its main drawback was that it hampered the growth of the city, so that its population was crowded together for over two hundred years.
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The new walls were about thirteen kilometers long[2] and enclosed an area of 500 hectares, of which more than 150 belonged to the Buen Retiro Royal Site. This area includes all the present-day Centro district plus Buen Retiro Park and the Los Jerónimos neighbourhood. The walls were partially rebuilt in the 18th century and were demolished in 1868 during the Glorious Revolution, as they were considered an Isabelline symbol.[2]
The exits from Madrid were flanked by five royal gates, or gates of registration (where taxes were paid): Puerta de Segovia, Puerta de Toledo, Puerta de Atocha, Puerta de Alcalá and Puerta de Bilbao; and fourteen minor gates or portillos, opened at different dates: Portillo de la Vega, Portillo de las Vistillas, Portillo de Gilimón, Portillo de del Campillo del Mundo Nuevo, Portillo de Embajadores, Portillo de Valencia, Portillo de Campanilla, Portillo de Recoletos, Portillo de Santa Bárbara, Portillo de Maravillas, Portillo de Santo Domingo, Portillo de del Conde Duque, Portillo de San Bernardino and Portillo de San Vicente.
The main gates remained open until 10pm in winter and 11pm in summer. After this time, if necessary, passage was permitted through a checkpoint. The portillos were opened at dawn and closed at sunset, remaining closed overnight. Except for the Puerta de San Vicente - built by Sabatini - the portillos are not noted for their architecture.
Current status
Remnants of the walls are visible in two places. One forms part of the retaining wall of the Jardines de Las Vistillas, next to the access staircase, where was also found at the same time the Casa de Gil Imón. It is in a ruinous state and has suffered the collapse of some sections.[2] The other is attached to the fire station of Ronda de Segovia by the Puerta de Toledo roundabout; it is no more than five meters in length, and carries a commemorative plaque. This section dates from the 18th-century reconstruction.[2]
There is another fragment in the garden area of the Seminario Conciliar, which was demolished without permission by the archbishopric of Madrid. The Directorate General of Heritage of the Community of Madrid mandated the reconstruction of this section, but it was carried out using new materials without attention to the original materials.[2] The interim plan for the Manzanares riverbank, approved by the city council of Madrid, will allow the archbishopric of Madrid to erect five buildings in the Cornisa park, threatening the existing remains of the Walls. These facts have led to the inclusion of the Cornisa park on the Hispania Nostra association's "Red List" of endangered heritage sites.[3]
A new section was found in 2009 during work on the Calle de Serrano.[4][5]
Bibliography
- María Isabel Gea (2002). "Walls of Philip IV". Diccionario Enciclopédico de Madrid. Madrid: La Librería. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
References
- ↑ "Un Madrid con Horarios", Secretos de Madrid
- 1 2 3 4 5 Adrián Delgado (March 10, 2012). "Goal: to save the Real Cerca de Felipe IV". ABC (newspaper). Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ↑ Hispania Nostra. "Red List of the Heritage: Jardines de las Vistillas". Archived from the original on 26 November 2015. Retrieved 8 July 2013.
- ↑ Francisco Seco (July 11, 2009). "The Serrano's work will be delayed months to save the Walls of Philip IV". ABC (newspaper). Retrieved July 8, 2013.
- ↑ Rafael Fraguas (May 6, 2009). "The Serrano's works uncover the Walls of Philip IV". ABC (newspaper). Retrieved July 8, 2013.
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