The Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great ( es, Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande) is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

church in central

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

, Spain, located in the neighborhood of

Palacio Palacio (''palace'') is a Spanish habitational name. It may have originated from many places in Spain, especially in Galicia and Asturies. Notable people with the surname include: * Agustina Palacio de Libarona (1825-1880), Argentine writer, sto ...

. The main façade faces the Plaza of San Francisco, at the intersection of Bailén, the Gran Vía de San Francisco, and the Carrera de San Francisco. It forms part of the convent of Jesús y María of the

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

order. The convent was founded in the 13th century at the site of a chapel. The building was erected on the plot previously occupied by a primitive Franciscan convent (according to tradition founded by the very same

Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...

in 1217), demolished on the occasion upon orders by

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...

, who sought to build a new convent from scratch. It was designed in a Neoclassic style in the second half of the 18th century, based on a design by Francisco Cabezas, developed by Antonio Pló, and completed by

Francesco Sabatini Francesco Sabatini (1721 – 19 February 1797), also known as Francisco Sabatini, was an Italian architect of the 18th century who worked in Spain. Biography Born in Palermo, he studied architecture in Rome. His first contacts with the Spa ...

. The church contains paintings by Zurbarán and

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 174616 April 1828) was a Spanish romantic painter and printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. His paintings, drawings, and ...

. The walls of the temple was painted in the 19th century. The temple once functioned as the National pantheon and enshrined the remains of famous artists and politicians. Today is an important tourism point. The dome is in diameter and in height; its shape is very similar to the Pantheon's dome, having a more circular shape than the typical domes built in the 18th century. It is reportedly the fourth biggest dome in Europe after the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

, St. Peter's Basilica and the

Florence cathedral Florence Cathedral, formally the (; in English Cathedral of Saint Mary of the Flower), is the cathedral of Florence, Italy ( it, Duomo di Firenze). It was begun in 1296 in the Gothic style to a design of Arnolfo di Cambio and was structurally c ...

. The temple was elevated to the status of

minor basilica In the Catholic Church, a basilica is a designation given by the Pope to a church building. Basilicas are distinguished for ceremonial purposes from other churches. The building need not be a basilica in the architectural sense (a rectangular ...

via an edict issued by

John XXIII Pope John XXIII ( la, Ioannes XXIII; it, Giovanni XXIII; born Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, ; 25 November 18813 June 1963) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 28 October 1958 until his death in June 19 ...

on 2 February 1963, the apostolic letter ''Gloria matriti''. In 1980, the building was designated as national historic-artistic monument (a heritage status predating in time that of the '' bien de interés cultural'') by the Ministry of Culture.

Bells

Although they are derelict and unringable, the church holds the only peal of

change ringing Change ringing is the art of ringing a set of tuned bells in a tightly controlled manner to produce precise variations in their successive striking sequences, known as "changes". This can be by method ringing in which the ringers commit to memor ...

bells in Spain, cast by John Warner and Sons in 1882 and weighing around . Although unringable they were the only peal of change ringing church bells in mainland Europe until 2017, when St George's Church in Ypres received a peal of their own. Image:San francisco el grande historico.jpg, Interior in 1860. Image:Viaducto hierro madrid.jpg, Print showing translation of the remains of Calderón de la Barca from the Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great to the cemetery of san Nicolás, by the original viaduct of the Segovia street, in 1874. Image:Madrid May 2014-7a.jpg, Altar Image:Madrid Real Basilica de San Fernando el Grande koepel 16-03-2010 17-14-56.jpg, The great dome

References

{{Authority control 18th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain Francisco Neoclassical architecture in Madrid Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid Church buildings with domes Buildings and structures in Palacio neighborhood, Madrid Neoclassical church buildings in Spain

Bells

See also

References