Puerta de Toledo
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The Puerta de Toledo is a city gate in Madrid built in the first half of the 19th century in the form of a triumphal arch . It stands on a traffic island at the intersection of Ronda de Toledo / Ronda de Segovia / Calle de Toledo and is not accessible to pedestrians. A subway station on line 5 has the same name.
history
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Today's Puerta de Toledo is the third gateway to bear this name. The second was during the construction of the fourth city wall under Philip IV. 1625 was near the present building. The name comes from the fact that the road towards Toledo began here.
The first plans for the representative renovation of the city gate were made at the time of the Napoleonic occupation of Spain (1808–1813) under King Joseph Bonaparte . However, the end of the occupation also meant the end of this project. Instead, the city administration commissioned the architect Antonio López Aguado to build a triumphal arch on the occasion of the restoration of the Bourbons under Ferdinand VII.
The work lasted from 1813 to 1827. The city wall was razed in 1868, the Puerta de Toledo and the Puerta de Alcalá are the only city gates that have survived.
architecture
The Puerta di Toledo, built in the classical style, has three openings: a central arched passage and two lateral pedestrian gates. The main facade material used was gray granite . The decorative elements are made of light limestone . The facade is structured by Ionic pilasters . An exception is the central arch, which is framed by two Ionic half-columns towards the city center . The color and shape have earned the gate the nickname elephant .
The gate is crowned by two groups of figures. Out of town, an allegory of Spain armed with a helmet, armor and spear looks at the people in the form of a mother with her child. This gives the central figure a fruit. A sheep sits behind her. To her left is the Allegory of Art and Science, leaning on a torso , holding a palette of colors and a hammer in her hands. A capital and books lie at their feet . The figures are surrounded by all kinds of symbolic objects, including a lion, fasces and a cornucopia . The allegory holds the coat of arms of the Bourbons.
In the city center, two putti hold the coat of arms of Madrid . They are surrounded by military motifs, namely cannons, drums and standards. There are two trophies on each side of the groups of figures.
Under the groups of figures, the city pays homage in Latin to King Ferdinand VII, father of the fatherland, who has returned to his people and ended the French occupation.
Web links
Coordinates: 40 ° 24 ′ 24.2 " N , 3 ° 42 ′ 41.9" W.