Madrid reflects on its most challenging days through an exhibition in El Retiro. The Montaña de los Gatos, that mysterious mound in the Retiro that was almost always closed, is hosting Madrid Resiliente through April 30, a free photography exhibition that explores, from the heart of the city, how Madrid has weathered Filomena, the pandemic, the great blackout of 2025, and the torrential rains of recent years.
The exhibition is housed inside the Retiro Park’s Artificial Mountain, a 19th-century landscape whim now converted into an exhibition hall, turning the visit into a two-part experience: outside, an unusual viewpoint overlooking the park; inside, a small cultural bunker dedicated to the memory of recent crises. Organized by the UPM School of Civil Engineering and curated by Irene Calvo, the exhibition invites visitors to view Madrid not so much through its monuments, but through the infrastructure and the people who kept the city standing when everything seemed to be crumbling.
The toughest days in the capital
Hanging on the walls are documentary and artistic photographs by names such as Rafael Trapiello, Manuel Revilla, Elvira Gómez Vila, and Antonello Dellanotte, among others. The images link together scenes that are still very much alive in our memory: streets and parks buried in snow during Storm Filomena, electrical substations and emergency crews during the blackout of April 28, 2025, hospitals and ICUs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, tunnels and storm drains facing torrential rains, and also the less visible side of the digital threats that put the city to the test.
The exhibition is free to visit through April 30, Tuesday through Friday from 11:00 AM to 1:30 PM and 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM, and Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM and 4:30 PM to 7:30 PM; it is closed on Mondays. The most convenient access is through the O’Donnell gate in the Retiro Park, from where you can reach the Montaña de los Gatos in just a few minutes by following the signs. Additionally, the exhibition includes a parallel program of technical tours, meetings, and educational activities in collaboration with the City Council and the EMT, to give the public an inside look at how these strategic infrastructures—which we only remember when they fail—actually work.