Plaza de Cibeles
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Plaza de Cibeles is an attractive square featuring a beautiful sculpture and fountains that have been adopted as a symbol for the city of Madrid, Spain.
The fountain of Cibeles is found in the part of Madrid commonly called the Paseo de Recoletos. It depicts the goddess Cibeles (Cybele), the Phrygian goddess of fertility, who is seen sitting on a chariot and being pulled by two lions. On one side of the fountain of Cibeles, the Paseo de Recoletos starts, heading north to join up with the Paseo de la Castellana. On the other side, the Paseo del Prado begins and heads off south, towards the fountain of Neptune, in the Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, and on until Atocha. Up until the 19th century both the fountain of Neptune and Cibeles looked directly at each other, until the city council decided to turn them round to face towards the centre of the city.
Calle Alcalá is the street which intersects the fountain from east to west. Calle Alcalá starts in the Puerta del Sol and continues on to the beautiful Puerta de Alcalá. On the corners of the plaza de Cibeles ‘square’ you will find the headquarters of the Spanish Postal Service (Correos y Telégrafos), housed in a stunning building which some people compare to a wedding cake. On another corner you will find the Bank of Spain and opposite it the Headquarters of the Spanish Army. On the other side of the plaza, on the East side you will see the Palace of Linares, called Casa de América, as it is used now as a venue for cultural activities concerning, generally, Latin America.
The Cibeles fountain was built in the reign of Charles (Carlos) III and designed by Ventura Rodríguez between 1777 and 1782. The goddess and chariot are the work of Francisco Gutiérrez and the lions by Roberto Michel.
The fountain of Cibeles has been adopted by the football team Real Madrid, and is often the meeting point for fans and the football players themselves, when the team wins the Champions League, La Liga or Spanish Copa del Rey.
Subway station (Metro de Madrid): Banco de España (line 2)
