If from the Royal Collegiate Basilica of San Isidoro de León is said to be the Sistine Chapel of the Romanesque, from the church of San Antonio de los Alemanes at Malasaña (Calle de la Puebla, 22) can be said -and it has already been said- to be the Sistine Chapel of Madrid. More specifically, the Sistine Chapel of Madrid Baroque.
In both cases, the comparison has less to do with the resemblance to Michelangelo’s paintings and more to do with how impressive it is to find a certainty painted on the walls of a temple: that of being in front of one of the most important Romanesque works in Europe or that of being in front of the only church in Madrid completely covered with frescoes, respectively.
However, the art that covers its walls are not the only parallelism that links this madrid church with the Vatican City: its shape is inspired by the church of Santa Anna dei Palafreneri. This characteristic makes it doubly justified to call the church of San Antonio de los Alemanes “unique”: it is the only church in the city that is 100% covered with frescoes and the only church in Madrid with an ellipsoidal floor plan.
The frescoes of San Antonio de los Alemanes
According to the website of the Santa y Real Hermandad de Refugio y Piedad de Madrid, current owner of the temple, the church was built between 1624 and 1630 “on the initiative of the Council of the Kingdom of Portugal and with funds from a group of Portuguese nobles and merchants”. That is why was initially called San Antonio de los Portugueses.
The design of the building was conceived by the Jesuit architect Pedro Sánchez, with the participation of Francisco Seseña and Juan Gómez de Mora. The painting of the frescoes was also a work of several hands: it involved prominent artists of the time, such as Francisco Carreño de Miranda, Lucas Jordán and Francisco Ricci – who is remembered by a street in Chamberí-who was in charge of designing the composition (the trompe l’oeil) that decorates the dome of the church.
It was built in Honor to Saint Anthony of Padua, the same saint to whom the hermitage at San Antonio de la Florida where some of the painter’s best frescoes can be seen. And the similarities between the two religious buildings continue: both hide an impressive interior behind a sober exterior that goes rather unnoticed and both have been declared National Monuments. The one that concerns us in this article, in 1973.
Place of worship… and of concerts
The church also regularly hosts concerts of different nature: of solo instruments such as harp and organ and of genres as varied as classical music and fusion such as flamenco-electronic. Information about the tickets and the artists and groups performing can be consulted at their website web page.
Times and tickets
The church is open for visits during continuous hours from 10 am to 7 pm (masses being at 6 pm from Monday to Saturday and at 12 pm on Sundays and holidays). And in August it remains closed.
There are two types of visits, namely:
- Self-guided visit (includes church and crypt). It is priced at 5€ (as a donation) and includes a free audio guide service in Spanish, English and French. It lasts approximately 30 minutes and is available Monday through Saturday from 10 am to 5 pm.
- Guided tour (includes the church, the sacristy, the crypt and the museum of the Brotherhood). It costs 10€, lasts about an hour (guided by a Brother of the Refuge) and is available from Monday to Saturday at 10:30 am, 11:30 am and 12:30 pm.
how to book visits?
To reserve and purchase tickets, you must do so through the web page of the Brotherhood, in the section of cultural visits. Tickets can also be purchased at the church door but availability is not guaranteed for guided tours, so it is recommended to book online.
All the money raised goes to support the charitable works of the Hermandad del Refugio, such as the soup kitchen, food for families and schooling for children.