Puerta de Alcalá

It is one of the most emblematic monuments of Madrid.

It is located in the Plaza de la Independencia, immersed in a nerve centre of the traffic in Madrid. It commemorates the arrival of Carlos III to the capital city. It is decorated with sculptures, relieves, capitals, a headstone which says “Carlos III. Año 1778” and the coat of arms is held by the fame and the genius. It is built with granite and white stone and is 1.95 metres height. It consists of five openings, three round arches and two trabeated arches.

Over the central arch, there is a curved gable that has another triangular gable inside. This monument presents two different faces. The military trophies and the sculptures of children and the coat of arms that decorates the upper section are Francisco Gutiérrez´ s works, and the rest of the ornamentation belongs to Roberto Michel. In this Savatini´ s work, elements of the international and academic Baroque are mixed in their monumental version, stressing the urban value of a strategic point of the city, due to the relation between the gate and the avenue.

When Carlos III entered to Madrid through the Puerta de Alcalá in 1759, he did not like it and he ordered to pull it down in 1764. The new gate was also ordered to be built by the king Carlos III, who wanted to replace another Baroque gate that had been ordered by Felipe III.

Interesting resources

   Photos of the Puerta de Alcalá