Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great

The site was previously occupied by a Franciscan convent-hermitage, which, according to legend, was founded by Saint Francis of Assisi in 1217. When Philip II made Madrid the capital of the kingdom in 1561, the convent gained in wealth and importance, eventually receiving custody of the Holy Places conquered by the crusaders, through a Protective Board of the Pious Work of Jerusalem, and the General Commissariat of the Indies.

In 1760, the Franciscans demolished the original building to construct, on its site, a larger temple, which they commissioned from the architect Ventura Rodríguez. His project, signed in 1761, was rejected in favor of a design by the friar Francisco Cabezas, drafted by José de Hermosilla. Cabezas conceived a large rotunda for the interior space, covered by a grandiose dome. However, the works had to be suspended in 1768, due to technical complications, forcing Cabezas to abandon the project, pressured by Ventura Rodríguez, who took advantage of his influence within the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. The works were then entrusted to Antonio Plo, who took charge of the dome, completing it in 1770.

In 1776, the community of friars requested King Charles III to incorporate the royal architect Francesco Sabatini, one of the creators of the Royal Palace, to whom the main facade and the two towers that crown it are attributed. Architect Miguel Fernández (1726-1786) also joined as a technical advisor. The building was completed in 1784. During the reign of Joseph I (1808-1813), there were plans to convert the temple into a Court Hall, following a redesign by the architect Silvestre Pérez. It was ultimately turned into a hospital, according to a decree of March 3, 1812.

In 1836, in the context of the Mendizábal disentailment, the Franciscans were expelled and the building was taken over by the Spanish state, through the Royal Heritage agency. A year later, the possibility of converting it into a National Pantheon was considered, but the initiative could not materialize. In 1838, it served as the headquarters of an infantry barracks, while religious worship was restored. The Protective Board of the Pious Work of Jerusalem came under state ownership.

In 1869, the idea of the National Pantheon was revived. For the next five years, it housed the mortal remains of various Spanish historical figures, including those of Calderón de la Barca, Alonso de Ercilla, Garcilaso de la Vega, Francisco de Quevedo, Ventura Rodríguez, Juan de Villanueva, and Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba (the Great Captain). They were placed in a chapel and returned in 1874 to their respective places of origin.

In 1879, the temple underwent a major renovation and restoration, driven by the politician Antonio Cánovas del Castillo and financed by the Ministry of State. The refurbishment was used to decorate its interior, in a process that lasted from 1880 to 1889, involving various Spanish artists specialized in mural paintings and decorative arts, including Casto Plasencia, José Casado del Alisal, and Salvador Martínez Cubells. Most of their studies and sketches are preserved in the Prado Museum.

The works were carried out at the expense of the funds of the Pious Work of the Holy Places, directed by Jacobo Prendergast on behalf of the Ministry of State. Renowned sculptors such as Jerónimo Suñol, Justo de Gandarias Planzón, Mariano Benlliure, Ricardo Bellver, Juan Samsó, and Antonio Moltó participated in the renovation; as did famous painters like Carlos Luis de Ribera y Fieve, Alejandro Ferrant y Fischermans aided by his great friend José María López-Merlo Pascual, Casto Plasencia, Maximino Peña, Germán Hernández Amores, Manuel Domínguez Sánchez, José Casado del Alisal, José Moreno Carbonero, Antonio Muñoz Degraín, Salvador Martínez Cubells, Francisco Jover y Casanova, Eugenio Oliva y Rodrigo, José Marcelo Contreras y Muñoz, and Manuel Ramírez Ibáñez.

Also, Francisco Molinelli, Pedro Nicoli, and Varela executed carving and ornamentation works.

In 1926, King Alfonso XIII returned the temple to the Franciscans. On June 30, 1962, it was declared a minor basilica by Pope John XXIII and on November 8 of the same year, it was dedicated to Our Lady of the Angels, after a new consecration.

Throughout the 20th century, reforms and rehabilitations took place, with the temple remaining closed for decades. Notably, a refurbishment started in 1971 by architect Luis Martínez-Feduchi focused on the roofs and the dome, waterproofing the leadwork and restoring the dome's frescoes. Its interior was used to film the famous final scene of Cielo Negro (1951), a movie by Manuel Mur Oti.

In November 2001, after decades of work, the church reopened to the public and in 2006, the scaffolding inside, used by restorers to recover the mural paintings, was dismantled.

The Basilica of San Francisco el Grande features a central, circular floor plan with a vestibule and apse. The roof is resolved by a large dome, flanked by six smaller domes, which surround the base of the building to the north and south.

These elements are mirrored in the temple's interior space, consisting of a wide rotunda and six small surrounding chapels (three on each side). The main chapel is located in the apse and dominates the entire complex.

The construction materials combine granite ashlars, used mainly in the main facade, and plastered brickwork.

The dome of San Francisco el Grande has a diameter of 33 meters and a height of 58 meters (72 meters from the ground). In terms of circular domes, it is the third largest in diameter in Christianity, after the Pantheon of Agrippa (43.4 m) and Saint Peter's in the Vatican (42.5 m), both in Rome, Italy.

Considering other types of domes as well, it is the fourth largest, following the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore (45 m) in Florence, Italy, which has an octagonal, eight-faceted plan.

It exceeds in diameter the domes of Hagia Sophia (31.8 m) in Istanbul, Turkey; St. Paul's Cathedral (30.8 m) in London, United Kingdom; and Les Invalides (24 m) in Paris, France.

Technical problems during construction led to a low-rise solution for the dome, in line with the model used in the Pantheon of Agrippa. It is made of solid brick, manufactured on-site, in a single layer. At its base, the layer is three meters thick, tapering to less than a meter at the crown.

The dome is topped by a circular lantern, with a spire and wrought iron cross.

In the creation of the dome's pictorial decoration, involving the eight moldings and the pendentives, some of the most prestigious painters of the time participated, including Casto Plasencia, Alejandro Ferrant and Fischermans, Salvador Martínez Cubells, Francisco Jover, and Manuel Domínguez.

Around the rotunda, separating the different chapels, are twelve sculptures of the Apostles carved in Carrara white marble between 1885 and 1886, based on clay models by Spanish artists. The sculptors who undertook this project include Mariano Benlliure (Saint Matthew), Elías Martín y Riesco (Saint Thomas and James the Lesser), Justo de Gandarias (Saint Jude Thaddeus), Jerónimo Suñol (Saint Paul), Antonio Moltó (Saint Philip and Saint Simon), Agapito Vallmitjana (James the Greater and Saint Peter), Juan Samsó (Saint John), and Ricardo Bellver (Saint Bartholomew and Saint Andrew). These sculptures are placed on large pedestals and are approximately 2.50 meters tall.

The decoration is completed with the four Evangelists and the twelve Sibyls, located at the base of the pendentives, all by Alejandro Ferrant, framing the stained glass windows in the openings around the lower part of the dome. These were made by the Mayer of Munich house in 1882, based on designs by Amérigo and Laplaza, depicting scenes from the life of the Virgin. Also notable among the decorative elements are the 16 monumental candelabras on the walls of the rotunda, made in brass by the San Juan de Alcaraz Metallurgical Company in 1889, and the magnificent holy water fonts by Vancells.

The main facade faces east. It is the work of Francesco Sabatini, who conceived a purely neoclassical design, albeit nuanced by its convex configuration, necessary to adapt to the circular floor plan of the structure.

It presents two bodies. In the lower one, there are three semicircular arches, supported by Doric pilasters. The Ionic order dominates the second body, consisting of three linteled windows. The ensemble is topped, in its upper part, with a triangular pediment, located at the central point, and a balustrade, which runs along the sides.

The pediment is adorned with the Jerusalem cross in the tympanum and, above, there is an acroterion with the Franciscan coat of arms and a royal crown. Above the pillars of the balustrade, four stone statues rise, representing saints, which were sculpted in London in 1883.

The facade is dominated by two towers, one at each end, slightly set back. They are covered with undulating spires, topped with weathervanes. In their openings, there are 19 bells, eight of them in the south tower and the remaining eleven in the north tower (the latter are part of the church's carillon). The bell towers are framed with paired pilasters.

The dome and its lantern appear between the two towers, dominating the ensemble.

The most notable pieces in the lobby are the seven doors that allow entry to the enclosure, which were carved in walnut wood in the 19th century. They are the work of Agustín Mustieles, from the House of Juan Guas, who used models by Antonio Varela, with Gothic-Renaissance inspiration, depicting different biblical scenes.

Among the most outstanding reliefs, it is worth mentioning those on the three central doors, featuring a representation of Christ crucified with Faith and Hope at his feet, and on both sides, the two thieves of Calvary.

The interior rotunda is paved in marbles, as well as its baseboards. With sumptuous decoration, its main artistic values are concentrated in the mural paintings of the dome, resulting from the reform and remodeling works promoted, in the last third of the 19th century, by Antonio Cánovas del Castillo.

The central theme of these paintings is Our Lady of the Angels, and they depict various scenes of kings and saints paying homage to the Virgin. They were conceived by Carlos Luis de Ribera y Fieve, as the director of the decoration project, and executed by the most prestigious painters of the time — Casto Plasencia, Alejandro Ferrant y Fischermans, Salvador Martínez Cubells, Francisco Jover, and Manuel Domínguez.

They were made on plaster panels, installed on the inner surface of the dome, and are arranged in eight large sections, separated by eight moldings, which start at the base of the dome and cross at the lantern.

The contour of the rotunda is adorned with twelve sculptures of the Apostles, carved in white Carrara marble, based on Spanish models. They rest on large pedestals and measure more than two and a half meters each, approaching three meters in some cases. They were sculpted by Agapito Vallmitjana, Jerónimo Suñol (Saint Peter and Saint Paul), and Ricardo Bellver (Saint Andrew and Saint Bartholomew), among other artists.

The decoration of the ensemble is completed with a series of polychrome stained glass windows, located in the openings that surround the lower part of the dome; they were constructed in 1882 in Munich, based on a design by Amérigo and Laplaza. And by the 16 monumental chandeliers made of brass by the San Juan de Alcaraz Metallurgical Company, in 1889, and arranged on the walls of the rotunda.

The main chapel is installed in the apse. Until the reform at the end of the 19th century, it was dominated by a canvas by Francisco Bayeu, depicting the apparition of Jesus Christ and the Virgin Mary to Saint Francis of Assisi. The painting is currently located in the choir.

The then austere appearance was transformed with the aforementioned remodeling, in which numerous ornamental elements were installed, using materials such as marble, noble woods, bronze, or gold.

Inside the temple, dominated by the main chapel. The head is presided over by five mural paintings, framed in four large pilasters with golden edging. They are the work of Manuel Domínguez and Alejandro Ferrant and focus on different episodes in the life of Francis of Assisi. The half-dome that serves as a roof for the enclosure was decorated with paintings by José Marcelo Contreras, on golden backgrounds.

Main chapel. In the center, the Renaissance choir stalls from the Monastery of Santa María del Parral in Segovia can be observed. To the left, one of the statues of the Evangelists. Next to the base of the aforementioned pilasters, there are four statues of the Evangelists, which rise on black marble pedestals. They were carved in bronzed wood by Francisco Molinelli and Antonio Moltó. Around it extends a Renaissance choir, brought from the Hieronymite monastery of Santa María del Parral in Segovia, and adapted to the place by Ángel Guirao, in 1885.

The presbytery is flanked on both sides by two large pulpits, made of Carrara marble by Nicoli. This artist also made the marble balustrade of that chapel.

The six secondary chapels are symmetrically distributed, three on the northern side of the rotunda and three on the southern side. They are separated from the large circular space by pillars, which support various semi-circular arches, allowing access.

Each lateral chapel is covered by a small dome, with its corresponding lantern, which replicate, on a smaller scale, the model of the great dome that rises above the rotunda. They are enclosed with iron railings, made in 1884 by Juan González.

Their decoration reflects the historical eclecticism prevalent at the end of the 19th century, when the interior of the basilica was renovated. It follows a project by José Marcelo Contreras, who did away with four of the pictorial works that until then had adorned the chapels, specifically those signed by Gregorio Ferro, Antonio González Velázquez, José del Castillo, and Andrés de la Calleja.

Only the canvases of the Chapel of San Antonio were retained, where an Immaculate Conception by Mariano Salvador Maella (1784) is displayed, and in the Chapel of San Bernardino, with the painting The Preaching of Saint Bernardino of Siena before Alfonso V of Aragon, by Francisco de Goya, also dated 1784. The Aragonese artist depicts the saint preaching before a crowd, which includes a young man, traditionally considered to be a self-portrait of the painter.

The remaining four chapels were decorated with paintings commissioned from prestigious artists of the time, such as Casto Plasencia, with a chapel work in commemoration of the Virgin of Oblivion and alluding to the Order of Carlos III, and José Casado del Alisal, with a representation of Santiago the Apostle in the Battle of Clavijo.

The San Francisco el Grande facilities house a museum composed of 51 paintings (including numerous deposits from the Museo del Prado), among other artistic pieces. The most valuable pictorial works correspond to Spanish and Italian Baroque, with works by Francisco Ribalta (Saint Jerome), Francisco de Zurbarán (Saint Bonaventure receiving the visit of Saint Thomas Aquinas), Vicente Carducho (Kneeling Pope and scenes in the background), Alonso Cano (Saint Anthony of Padua), Artemisia Gentileschi (Jesus and the Samaritan woman), and Luis Tristán (The Descent from the Cross). In addition, four canvases by the Belgian painter Gaspar de Crayer are on display.

The church used to preserve Goya's Crucified Christ, a work that helped the artist gain admission to the Royal Academy of Fine Arts of San Fernando. In the first third of the 19th century, the painting was installed in the now-defunct Museo de la Trinidad, which was absorbed in 1872 by the Museo del Prado.