Arriving at #5 of the “San Antonio de la Florida” Roundabout on the banks of the Manzanares River in Madrid, you look straight ahead and find not one, but two identical hermitages. Now, it is the so-called San Antonio de la Florida hermitage on the right side of the square, the reason for arriving there. It is the only one, of three hermitages, dedicated to San Antonio de Padua that has survived of those that existed on the outskirts of Madrid. It is known as the hermitage of “San Antonio de la Florida” because it is located on the “Paseo de la Florida”, where formerly stood the Palace of Florida, acquired by Charles IV. Today, there are no remains of this palace as it was demolished in the 19th century to enable the construction of the new “Estación del Norte” (now the Príncipe Pío Railroad Station). Continue reading “Hermitage of “San Antonio de la Florida”, Madrid”
