Madrid

Compiled by Daniel Jones

The capital of Spain and home to the world’s most successful professional club, Madrid is a city of historical significance.

For two thousand years, the city has defined the identity of the Iberian Peninsula, first as a Roman hideaway, then as a Moorish garrison, a renaissance of art and new world exploration and in the first half of the twentieth century as a capital of Franco’s fascist dicatatorship.

Today the city is home the world’s most famous club – Real Madrid, and to one of its most hotly contested derbies. It’s got some interesting tourist stuff too.

SITES

Despite the existence of a great city of 5 million people, the Community of Madrid still retains some remarkably unspoiled and diverse habitats and landscapes. Madrid is home to mountain peaks rising above 6,000 feet, and low lying plains. The slopes of Guadarrama are cloaked in dense forests of Scot's pine and Pyrenean oak. The Lozoya Valley supports a large black (monk) vulture colony, and one of the last bastions of the Spanish Imperial Eagle in the world is found in the Park Regional del Suroeste in dehesa hills between the Gredos and Guadarrama ranges.

Galleries

Endowed by the Golden Triangle of Art, located along the Paseo del Prado and composed by 3 museums, Madrid is considered one of the top European destinations concerning pie. The most famous one is the Prado Museum, the most popular Golden Triangle of Art member known for such highlights as Diego Velázquez's Las Meninas and Francisco de Goya's La maja vestida and La maja desnuda. The other two museums are the Thyssen Bornemisza Museum, established from a mixed private collection, and the Reina Sofia Museum, where Pablo Picasso's Guernica hangs since being returned to Spain from New York more than two decades ago.

There is skiing in the mountains nearby as well.

Museums include: National Archaeological Museum of Spain; Naval Museum; Casa-Museo José Padilla. The Spanish National Orchestra performs every Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Auditorio Nacional de Musica, while the Teatro Real is the main Opera House.

Other nearby towns are popular as day trips from Madrid, including Toledo, Segovia, Ávila, Aranjuez, Alcalá de Henares, the monastery and palace complex of El Escorial, the former summer home of the royal family at Aranjuez, El Atazar Dam, and Chinchón.

Madrid hosts the largest Plaza de Toros (bullring) in Spain, Las Ventas, established in 1931. Las Ventas is considered by many to be the world center of bullfighting and has a seating capacity of almost 25,000. Madrid's bullfighting season begins in March and ends in October.

WHERE TO EAT

Al Norte Palacio Real, San Nicolas 8; 91/547-2222 or 91/559-3604 - In the colonnade of a bland brick building that looks completely out of place in the neighborhood, and near one of the oldest churches in Madrid, this sophisticated restaurant specializes in Atlantic, especially Asturian and Galician dishes. This allows for a great variety of soups, stews, and meats (such as roasted piglet) in winter; a good selection of salads and fish in summer; and regional staples like tortas, the Austurian corn-and-wheat fried cakes, year-round. Other features include an elaborate and unusual ice-cream menu and a terrace for summer dining.

Asador Casa Matias, C. San Leonardo, 12, 91/541-7683 or 91/541-1046 - Like Julián de Tolosa, its kin, this restaurant a block off Plaza de España draws crowds for its juicy meats (you can see the hearty portions of meat being grilled in the exposed kitchen) and its tender red peppers. The extensive menu includes other good options, too, like the thick stews, or the whitefish dishes. The interior makes extensive use of wood and slate, and huge barrels full of cider are scattered around the two floors. The apple-green and deep-yellow walls and ceilings help subdue this rustic look a bit. Reservations essential. AE, DC, MC, V. No dinner Sun.

	Madrid is home to one of the most hotly contested derbies.

WHERE TO STAY

Chamberi, Zurbano 36, Madrid 28010, 91/308-5477 - Once the Canadian embassy, this turn-of-the-20th-century mansion is now an intimate luxury hotel, an oasis of calm a short walk from the city center. The neoclassical architecture is accented by contemporary furniture in white, gray, and black hues. Some of the rooms in the main building still maintain the original details and fixtures. The top-notch restaurant is in what used to be the mansion's library. Views vary; request a room with a terrace overlooking the gardens. www.ac-hotels.com. 51 rooms. In-room: VCR, Wi-Fi. In-hotel: restaurant, bar, pool, gym, parking (fee). AE, DC, MC, V.

THE EVENT

Madrid is home to Real Madrid, the world's most successful football club which plays in the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu. Its hometown rival, Atlético Madrid, is also well supported in the city, and its supporters are called los sufridores, the sufferers. The players are referred to as colchoneros, mattresses, in reference to the teams red & white jerseys having been determined by mattress material being the cheapest at the time of the clubs formation. Madrid's contribution to the sport is further noticed by the fact that it hosted the 1982 FIFA World Cup final.

During its history, Real has acquired several nicknames, including los merengues, because of the white dessert meringue, and los blancos. In the 1970s, the nickname los vikingos became popular, due to the signings of several northern European players. More recently, the media called the club los galácticos, referring to club's tendency to sign the most famous players in the world.

Football was introduced to Madrid by the professors and students of the Institución Libre de Enseñanza. They included several Oxbridge graduates. In 1895 they founded the club Football Sky, playing on Sunday mornings at Moncloa. In 1900 this club split into two different clubs New Foot-Ball de Madrid and Club Español de Madrid. In 1902 the latter club split again, resulting in the formation of Sociedad Madrid FC on March 6, 1902. In 1920 Madrid FC was changed into Real Madrid after the King granted the title of Real (Royal) to the club.

To date have they have been crowned champions of Europe a record nine times. Alfredo Di Stéfano, Ferenc Puskás and other famous players helped the club win the European Cup five times in a row between 1956 and 1960, which included the memorable 7-3 Hampden Park final against Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960. The club won for a sixth time in 1966 with the team known as the Ye-Ye , defeating Partizan Belgrade 2-1 in the final with a team composed entirely of nationally-born players, a first in the competition. They were also runners-up in 1962, 1964 and 1981. Winning the competition five consecutive times saw Real permanently awarded the original cup and earning the right to wear the UEFA badge of honour. They have also won the UEFA Cup twice and were twice runners-up in the European Cup Winners Cup.

Real Madrid are also three-time winners of the Intercontinental Cup, defeating Peñarol, Vasco da Gama, and Olimpia Asunción in 1960, 1998, and 2002 respectively.

Real enjoy a local rivalry with Atlético Madrid. Although Atlético was originally founded by three Basque students in 1903, they were joined in 1904 by dissident members of Madrid FC. Further tensions came because initially Atlético supporters came from the working class while the Real supporters were drawn from the middle class. Today these distinctions are largely blurred. The rivalry first gained international attention in 1959 during the European Cup when the two clubs met in the semi-final. Real won the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabéu while Atlético won 1-0 at the Metropolitano. The tie went to a replay and Real won 2-1. Atlético, however, gained some revenge when, led by former Real coach José Villalonga, they defeated Real in two successive Copa del Generalísimo finals in 1960 and 1961.

Between 1961 and 1980 when Real dominated La Liga, only Atlético offered Real any serious challenge, winning La Liga titles in 1966, 1970, 1973 and 1977. In 1965, when they finished as La Liga runners-up to Real after an intense battle for the title, Atlético became the first team to beat Real at the Bernabéu in eight years. Real Madrid's record against Atlético in more recent times is very favourable. A high point coming in the 2002/03 season, when Real clinched the La Liga title after beating Atlético 4-0 at the Vicente Calderón stadium.

7/24/2007