Real Sitio de la Florida: A Former Royal Estate in Madrid
Site at a Glance
- Rating
- 4.7
- Popularity
- Medium
- Country
- Spain
- Primary era
- Early Modern
- External website
- Open
- Eras represented
- Early Modern
- Civilizations
- Spanish
- Site type
- Religious
- Remains
- Chapel
On this page7 sections
History
Real Sitio de la Florida was a Crown estate of the Spanish monarchy in Madrid, Spain, formally created in 1792 by King Charles IV from Florida, La Moncloa, and adjoining lands. Developed as a recreational royal estate, it occupied ground around the hill now called Príncipe Pío Mountain. Its former territory has since been incorporated into the city and is largely built over, while the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida remains as its surviving architectural remnant.
Origins and Expansion
The estate began as the Florida gardens on Príncipe Pío Mountain. Lorenzo de Cárdenas Valda y Zárate, consort marquis of Auñón, was its first owner and sold it in 1613 to Bernardo Sandoval y Rojas, cardinal and archbishop of Toledo. During the first half of the seventeenth century, ownership passed through several prominent holders, including the Duke of Lerma, the Society of Jesus, the Bishop of Badajoz, and the Marquis of Camarasa.
Around the middle of the seventeenth century, Francisco de Moura Corterreal, 3rd Marquis of Castel Rodrigo, acquired the property. He enlarged it by purchasing neighboring houses and gardens, including Molino Quemado, the estate of the Marchioness of Villahermosa, La Buitrera, Las Minillas, and the property of Marcos Sabugal. In the lower part of the mountain, he built a grand wooden palace with gardens at its entrance.
Creation of the Royal Estate
After Francisco de Moura Corterreal died, the estate passed to his daughter Leonor Moura. When she died without descendants, ownership went to her sister Juana Moura, who was married to Gisberto Pío of Savoy, Prince of San Gregorio. Their son, Francisco Pío of Savoy, gave his name to Príncipe Pío Mountain.
In 1792, Charles IV, King of Spain from 1788 to 1808, acquired the estate. He also bought La Moncloa from Manuel Godoy and joined it to Florida, creating the Real Sitio de la Florida. The royal possession was enlarged again with the Granjilla of the Convent of San Jerónimo, lands and gardens belonging to the Dukes of Alba, and some lands of the Seminary for Nobles.
Charles IV commissioned the Italian architect Felipe Fontana to design a new palace in the lower part of the estate. He also ordered the construction of the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida. In 1798, a papal brief from Pope Pius VI placed the royal site under the vere nullius jurisdiction of the Royal Chapel. This ecclesiastical arrangement put the estate directly under that higher authority rather than under the ordinary jurisdiction of the Archdiocese of Toledo.
Separation and Urban Transformation
Príncipe Pío Mountain was later separated from Florida. Marqués de Urquijo Street marked the boundary, with the mountain to the south and Florida to the north. In 1831, King Ferdinand VII, who ruled Spain from 1814 to 1833, transferred the mountain to his brother, Infante Francisco de Paula. An infante was a member of the Spanish royal family who held a royal title. Francisco de Paula converted the mountain into a public park with walks and gardens. Between the middle and the end of the nineteenth century, the Argüelles district was built on its grounds.
Remains
The former estate occupied varied terrain with different levels and combined palatial buildings, gardens, orchards, fountains, agricultural structures, and enclosed grounds. In 1792, its features included a palace, a dovecote, a cowshed, a mountain, and gardens. A solid wall enclosed the possession and was intended to prevent unwanted visitors. The historic estate itself has been absorbed into Madrid’s urban fabric, leaving the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida as its surviving architectural remnant.
Royal Palaces and Estate Grounds
The earlier palace built by Francisco de Moura Corterreal stood in the lower part of Príncipe Pío Mountain, on the site where Madrid’s North Station now stands. It was a large, richly appointed wooden building approached through gardens. Charles IV later commissioned a new palace from Felipe Fontana in the lower part of the enlarged estate. The royal grounds brought together Florida and La Moncloa with the Granjilla of the Convent of San Jerónimo, the Dukes of Alba’s lands and gardens, and property belonging to the Seminary for Nobles.
Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida
Built in the lower part of the grounds on Charles IV’s orders, the Hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida is the surviving architectural remnant of Real Sitio de la Florida. Its construction belongs to the royal estate’s transformation in 1792, when the king reorganized Florida and adjoining properties as a single recreational possession.
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