1.
Paseo del Prado, Havana
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Paseo del Prado, is a street in Havana, Cuba, on the dividing line between Centro Habana and Old Havana. Lining the boulevard are important buildings such as hotels, cinemas, theaters, El Prado was the first paved street in Havana. When El Capitolio was built in 1929 that section of the promenade was removed, at the corner of Cárcel street the car dealership Packard & Cunnighamm was located, and in 1940 the radio network RHC-Cadena Azul established its studios on the Prado. Already in the 1950s rich families were moving from the Prado to Miramar, Vedado, after the revolution the street and many of its buildings continued to deteriorate physically, to such point that many collapsed and are still in a ruined state. Nonetheless, many buildings have been renovated. In the first decade of the 2000s the high-end Hotel Parque Central was completed, anchoring the southeast end of the Paseo
2.
Madrid
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Madrid is the capital city of the Kingdom of Spain and the largest municipality in both the Community of Madrid and Spain as a whole. The city has a population of almost 3.2 million with an area population of approximately 6.5 million. It is the third-largest city in the European Union after London and Berlin, the municipality itself covers an area of 604.3 km2. Madrid lies on the River Manzanares in the centre of both the country and the Community of Madrid, this community is bordered by the communities of Castile and León. As the capital city of Spain, seat of government, and residence of the Spanish monarch, Madrid is also the political, economic, the current mayor is Manuela Carmena from Ahora Madrid. Madrid is home to two football clubs, Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid. Madrid is the 17th most liveable city in the according to Monocle magazine. Madrid organises fairs such as FITUR, ARCO, SIMO TCI, while Madrid possesses modern infrastructure, it has preserved the look and feel of many of its historic neighbourhoods and streets. Cibeles Palace and Fountain have become one of the monument symbols of the city, the first documented reference of the city originates in Andalusan times as the Arabic مجريط Majrīṭ, which was retained in Medieval Spanish as Magerit. A wider number of theories have been formulated on possible earlier origins, according to legend, Madrid was founded by Ocno Bianor and was named Metragirta or Mantua Carpetana. The most ancient recorded name of the city Magerit comes from the name of a built on the Manzanares River in the 9th century AD. Nevertheless, it is speculated that the origin of the current name of the city comes from the 2nd century BC. The Roman Empire established a settlement on the banks of the Manzanares river, the name of this first village was Matrice. In the 8th century, the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula saw the changed to Mayrit, from the Arabic term ميرا Mayra. The modern Madrid evolved from the Mozarabic Matrit, which is still in the Madrilenian gentilic, after the disintegration of the Caliphate of Córdoba, Madrid was integrated in the Taifa of Toledo. With the surrender of Toledo to Alfonso VI of León and Castile, the city was conquered by Christians in 1085, Christians replaced Muslims in the occupation of the centre of the city, while Muslims and Jews settled in the suburbs. The city was thriving and was given the title of Villa, since 1188, Madrid won the right to be a city with representation in the courts of Castile. In 1202, King Alfonso VIII of Castile gave Madrid its first charter to regulate the municipal council, which was expanded in 1222 by Ferdinand III of Castile
3.
Boulevard
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A boulevard, often abbreviated Blvd, is a type of large road, usually running through a city. It is a misconception that every boulevard has a median. Phnom Penh has numerous boulevards scattered throughout the city, norodom Boulevard, Sisowath Boulevard, Monivong Boulevard, and Sothearos Boulevard are the most famous. Indira Gandhi Sarani, formerly Red Road, is a road in Kolkata that runs from Raj Bhavan to Fort William, the road, a wide boulevard, was built in 1820 which bisects the historic Kolkata Maidan. The British authorities during colonial era intended for the road to be able to host large parades, the name Red Road was given due to its surfacing. During the Second World War, the road, in the heart of Kolkata, the annual Kolkata Marathon starts from outside the Rangers Club on Red Road. The name Indira Gandhi Sarani was adopted in 1985, mumbais Marine Drive is a 4.3 km long C shaped coastal road located in South Mumbai along the Arabian Sea. It is also called the Queens Necklace because if the stretch is viewed from an elevated point, a promenade lies parallel to the road. It is one of the major tourist attractions in Mumbai, the Gateway of India is located just 1.7 km away from Marine Drive. Though rarely used, Marine Drives official name is Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Marg, local residents use it for morning exercises as well. It is also popular among youths who come here to enjoy the splash of water during high tide, New Delhis premier boulevard is the Rajpath, which is also a thoroughfare. New Delhi being the capital, many such thoroughfares were built widely to sustain the exploding traffic growth that New Delhi. Rajpath, a tree lined road with ponds and fountains, was designed, along with Janpath, various national events such as Independence Day parades and Republic Day parades among many others take place over here annually. Hyderabads Necklace Road is a boulevard adjoining the Hussain Sagar lake, in Chennai, the major road is the Mount Road. Another boulevard is Radakrishnan Salai, also called Cathedral Road, which is in Chennai in Tamil Nadu State in Southern India along the Bay of Bengal. In Iran, Boulevard is generally defined as a road surrounded by trees in sides and divided by a green space line including grass. There are many boulevards in Iran, one of the most famous one is Keshavarz Boulevard in Tehran which is usually referred to as The Boulevard. Isfahan has also a historical boulevard which is called Chaharbagh Boulevard, Tel Aviv, was originally designed along the guidelines set out by architect Sir Patrick Geddes
4.
Plaza de Cibeles
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The Plaza de Cibeles is a square with a neo-classical complex of marble sculptures with fountains that has become an iconic symbol for the city of Madrid. It sits at the intersection of Calle de Alcalá, Paseo de Recoletos, Plaza de Cibeles was originally named Plaza de Madrid, but in 1900, the City Council named it Plaza de Castelar, which was eventually replaced by its current name. It is currently delimited by four prominent buildings, the Bank of Spain, the Palacio de Buenavista, the Palace of Linares, and these constructions are located in four different neighbourhoods from three different adjacent districts, Centro, Retiro, and Salamanca. Over the years, Cybele Palace and her fountain have become symbolic monuments of the city, the fountain of Cybele is found in the part of Madrid commonly called the Paseo de Recoletos. This fountain is named after Cybele, a Phrygian goddess, the most prominent of the buildings at the Plaza de Cibeles is the Cybele Palace
5.
Madrid Atocha railway station
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Madrid Atocha is the largest railway station in Madrid. It is the station serving commuter trains, intercity and regional trains from the south. These train services are run by the Spanish national rail company, from 2014, this station is connected everyday to Marseille in France. The station is in the Atocha neighborhood of the district of Arganzuela, at this site, Madrids first railway station was inaugurated on 9 February 1851 under the name Estación de Mediodía. After the building was destroyed by fire, it was rebuilt. The architect for the replacement, in a wrought iron style was Alberto de Palacio Elissagne. Engineer Henry Saint James also took part in the project, the name Atocha has become attached to the station because of the nearby basilica dedicated to Our Lady of Atocha. The train platforms were covered by a roof in the form of inverted hull with a height of approximately 27 meters. The steel and glass roof spreads between two flanking buildings. This complex of railway tracks expanded through the years, in 1985, a project of complete remodeling began, based on designs by Rafael Moneo. In 1992, the building was taken out of service as a terminal, and converted into a concourse with shops, cafés. Like the Orsay Museum in Paris, the concourse has been given a new function, a modern terminal was also designed by Moneo, and built in adjacent land to serve both the new AVE trains and local commuter lines. The main lines end in the new terminal, commuter train platforms are located underground, the station is served by two Madrid Metro stations, Atocha and Atocha Renfe. The latter was added when the new building was constructed and is directly linked to the railway station. On 11 March 2004, packed arriving commuter trains were bombed in a series of coordinated bombings, killing 191 people, the official investigation by the Spanish Judiciary determined the attacks were directed by a terrorist cell. On 10 June 2004, a somber and minimalist Atocha station memorial was dedicated for the victims of the Attack, the monument includes a virtual shrine. Visitors to the stations can leave a hand silhouette and a message through special-purpose consoles. A second monument to this event, known as 11-M in Spain, is the Bosque del Recuerdo in the Parque del Buen Retiro near Atocha
6.
Paseo de Recoletos
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Paseo de Recoletos is a wide boulevard in central Madrid leading from Plaza de Cibeles to Plaza de Colón. From West to East it consists of, Two southward lanes The pedestrian walk A southward Bus lane Three southward lanes Three northward lanes A median strip lined with trees, flowerbeds, Two nortward lanes A northward Bus lane. By the end of the 18th century architect José de Hermosilla was entrusted by King Charles III to urbanize the area of the old Bajo Abroñigal river and this gave birth to Paseo del Prado as well to Paseo de Recoletos. The name Recoletos was taken from an old convent of Augustinian Recollect friars built in 1592 in the area, the boulevard originally ended in the old Puerta de Recoletos, a baroque gate built under Ferdinand VI in 1756 and dismantled in 1863. During the Peninsular War this gate was fortified to fend off the Napoleonic troops, on 3 December 1808 Napoleon I personally directed the attacks against Madrid from the Fuente Castellana. The Batería de Veterinaria held off the troops that were trying to breach Recoletos Gate to surround the Alcalá Gate defenders, the French troops managed to break through El Retiro, outflanking the gates of Recoletos, Alcalá and Atocha, leading to Madrids capitulation the following day. During the Civil War the statues and fountains along the Paseo de Recoletos and El Prado were hidden under protection sacks, the center part of the boulevard is a pedestrian walk, lined with gardens, trees, statues, fountains and varied street furniture. The first and largest stretch of the boulevard has a row of eight ponds lined with white double doric columns, the ponds, which are lighted at night, are situated one slightly above the next one, forming tiny water falls in between. The first and last of these ponds have little jet fountains, the Terraza Recoletos and an Equatorial Sundial are nearby. The second and shortest stretch contains the Café Gijón, an historic literary café founded in 1888 with an outdoor terraza on the boulevard, on the fourth and last stretch is the Café El Espejo, another quaint café with an impressive glass pavilion influenced by Art Nouveau. It also has a monument dedicated to Spanish author Juan Valera and one of his best known works, Pepita Jiménez, a statue of Ramón del Valle-Inclán and a drinking fountain. Near the northern corner of the stretch is the entrance to an underground passage leading to the eastern median strip of the boulevard. This tunnel appears in Carlos Sauras film Taxi and this strip is divided into four stretches, the same as the pedestrian walk. The other three stretches are lined with trees, bushes and ornamental flowerbeds, and a path for pedestrians, the pedestrian walk is lined with stands several times a year, The Feria del Libro Antiguo y de Ocasión, held in April/May. The Feria de Artesanía, held during Christmas period, the Feria del Libro Viejo y Antiguo, held in Autumn. A Feria del Disco Antiguo y de Ocasión was held every Spring between 2000 and 2005 but the Town Hall denied permission in 2006. Paseo de Recoletos is also used as a temporary exhibition place. This exhibition is completed with five pieces in Paseo del Prado by the same artist
7.
Paseo de la Castellana
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Paseo de la Castellana, commonly known as La Castellana, is one of the longest and widest avenues of Madrid. It is named after an old fountain that used to exist in Plaza de Castilla, the Paseo de la Castellana is the continuation of Paseo de Recoletos and Paseo del Prado, and these three avenues vertebrate the north-south axis of the city. This project was brought to life again, after many years of debate. To the west of La Castellana lie the districts of Chamberí and Tetuán, and to the east, many business, banking and financial buildings are located along La Castellana or its immediate proximity, including those that house AZCA, Puerta de Europa, and the CTBA. Also, many of the most important embassies are located in or around the stretch between Plaza de Colón and Plaza del Doctor Marañón, between 1952 and 1980, the stretch north of Nuevos Ministerios was called Avenida del Generalísimo
8.
Museo del Prado
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The Prado Museum is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. Founded as a museum of paintings and sculpture in 1819, it contains important collections of other types of works. El Prado is one of the most visited sites in the world, and it is considered one of the greatest art museums in the world. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings,7,600 paintings,4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to a large number of other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums. The museum received 2.8 million visitors in 2012 and it is one of the largest museums in Spain. The best-known work on display at the museum is Las Meninas by Velázquez, Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museums fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now the largest outside of Italy. The museum is planning a 16% extension in the nearby Salón de Reinos and their efforts and determination led to the Royal Collection being enriched by some of the masterpieces now to be seen in the Prado. In addition to works from the Spanish royal collection, other holdings increased and enriched the Museum with further masterpieces, such as the two Majas by Goya. Among the now closed museums whose collections have been added to that of the Prado were the Museo del la Trinidad in 1872, in addition, numerous legacies, donations and purchases have been of crucial importance for the growth of the collection. Upon the deposition of Isabella II in 1868, the museum was nationalized and acquired the new name of Museo del Prado, the building housed the royal collection of arts, and it rapidly proved too small. The first enlargement to the museum took place in 1918, particularly important donations include Barón Emile dErlangers gift of Goyas Black Paintings in 1881. Between 1873 and 1900, the Prado helped decorate city halls, new universities, during the Second Spanish Republic from 1931 to 1936, the focus was on building up provincial museums. The art had to be returned across French territory in night trains to the museum upon the commencement of World War II, during the early years of the dictatorship of Francisco Franco, many paintings were sent to embassies. The main building was enlarged with short pavilions in the rear between 1900 and 1960, in 1993, an extension proposed by the Prados director at the time, Felipe Garin, was quickly abandoned after a wave of criticism. In the late 1990s, a $14 million roof work forced the Velázquez masterpiece Las Meninas to change galleries twice, in 1998, the Prado annex in the nearby Casón del Buen Retiro closed for a $10 million two-year overhaul that included three new underground levels. In 2007, the finally executed Rafael Moneos project to expand its exposition room to 16,000 square meters. A glass-roofed and wedge-shaped foyer now contains the shops and cafeteria
9.
Las Meninas
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Las Meninas is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Golden Age. Its complex and enigmatic composition raises questions about reality and illusion, because of these complexities, Las Meninas has been one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting. Some look out of the canvas towards the viewer, while others interact among themselves, the young Infanta Margaret Theresa is surrounded by her entourage of maids of honour, chaperone, bodyguard, two dwarfs and a dog. Just behind them, Velázquez portrays himself working at a large canvas, Velázquez looks outwards, beyond the pictorial space to where a viewer of the painting would stand. In the background there is a mirror that reflects the upper bodies of the king, Las Meninas has long been recognised as one of the most important paintings in Western art history. In 17th-century Spain, painters rarely enjoyed high social status, Painting was regarded as a craft, not an art such as poetry or music. Nonetheless, Velázquez worked his way up through the ranks of the court of Philip IV, the post brought him status and material reward, but its duties made heavy demands on his time. During the remaining eight years of his life, he painted only a few works, when he painted Las Meninas, he had been with the royal household for 33 years. Philip IVs first wife, Elizabeth of France, died in 1644, lacking an heir, Philip married Mariana of Austria in 1649, and Margaret Theresa was their first child, and their only one at the time of the painting. Subsequently, she had a short-lived brother Philip Prospero, and then Charles arrived, Velázquez painted portraits of Mariana and her children, and although Philip himself resisted being portrayed in his old age he did allow Velázquez to include him in Las Meninas. In the early 1650s he gave Velázquez the Pieza Principal of the late Balthasar Charless living quarters, by serving as the palace museum. It is here that Las Meninas is set, Philip had his own chair in the studio and would often sit and watch Velázquez at work. Although constrained by rigid etiquette, the king seems to have had an unusually close relationship with the painter. After Velázquezs death, Philip wrote I am crushed in the margin of a memorandum on the choice of his successor, during the 1640s and 1650s, Velázquez served as both court painter and curator of Philip IVs expanding collection of European art. He seems to have given an unusual degree of freedom in the role. He supervised the decoration and interior design of the holding the most valued paintings, adding mirrors. He was also responsible for the sourcing, attribution, hanging, by the early 1650s, Velázquez was widely respected in Spain as a connoisseur. Much of the collection of the Prado today—including works by Titian, Raphael, the painting was referred to in the earliest inventories as La Familia
10.
Francisco Goya
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Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of late 18th and early 19th centuries and throughout his career was a commentator. Immensely successful in his lifetime, Goya is often referred to as both the last of the Old Masters and the first of the moderns and he was also one of the great portraitists of modern times. He was born to a modest family in 1746 in the village of Fuendetodos in Aragon and he studied painting from age 14 under José Luzán y Martinez and moved to Madrid to study with Anton Raphael Mengs. He married Josefa Bayeu in 1773, the couples life together was characterised by an almost constant series of pregnancies and miscarriages, Goya was a guarded man and although letters and writings survive, little is known about his thoughts. He suffered a severe and undiagnosed illness in 1793 which left him completely deaf, after 1793 his work became progressively darker and more pessimistic. His later easel and mural paintings, prints and drawings appear to reflect a bleak outlook on personal, social and political levels and he was appointed Director of the Royal Academy in 1795, the year Manuel Godoy made an unfavorable treaty with France. In 1799 Goya became Primer Pintor de Cámara, the then-highest rank for a Spanish court painter, in the late 1790s, commissioned by Godoy, he completed his La maja desnuda, a remarkably daring nude for the time and clearly indebted to Diego Velázquez. In 1801 he painted Charles IV of Spain and His Family, in 1807 Napoleon led the French army into Spain. Goya remained in Madrid during the Peninsular War, which seems to have affected him deeply. Although he did not vocalise his thoughts in public, they can be inferred from his Disasters of War series of prints and his 1814 paintings The Second of May 1808 and The Third of May 1808. Goya eventually abandoned Spain in 1824 to retire to the French city of Bordeaux, accompanied by his much younger maid and companion, Leocadia Weiss, there he completed his La Tauromaquia series and a number of other, major, canvases. Following a stroke left him paralyzed on his right side. His body was later re-interred in Spain, Francisco Goya was born in Fuendetodos, Aragón, Spain, on 30 March 1746 to José Benito de Goya y Franque and Gracia de Lucientes y Salvador. The family had moved that year from the city of Zaragoza, José was the son of a notary and of Basque origin, his ancestors being from Zerain, earning his living as a gilder, specialising in religious and decorative craftwork. He oversaw the gilding and most of the ornamentation during the rebuilding of the Basilica of Our Lady of the Pillar, Francisco was their fourth child, following his sister Rita, brother Tomás and second sister Jacinta. There were two sons, Mariano and Camilo. His mothers family had pretensions of nobility and the house, a modest brick cottage, was owned by her family and, perhaps fancifully, about 1749 José and Gracia bought a home in Zaragoza and were able to return to live in the city
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