UNESCO sites in Madrid, Spain

The history of the Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences goes back to the 1500s, when the idea came about to develop a space in the centre of Madrid which would be dedicated to science and to educating the public but would also embellish the city.

The 120-hectare Jardines del Buen Retiro (Gardens of the Buen Retiro), along with the Buen Retiro lake, constitutes the largest part of the property. Other elements include the terraced Royal Botanical Garden and the largely residential neighbourhood of Barrio Jerónimos.

Just 30 kilometres outside the capital is Alcalá de Henares. The world’s first planned university town, it was founded in the early 1500s and was the original model for the Civitas Dei (City of God), the ideal urban community which Spanish missionaries brought to the Americas.

The city has its origins in Complutum, a Roman settlement on the banks of the River Henares. It expanded during the Middle Ages and flourished in the 16^th century with the foundation of the University by the visionary religious figure, Cardinal Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros.

As part of his project to create the ideal community, Cisneros bought land in the city with the purpose of providing the necessary infrastructures to support the university, including halls of residence and hospitals. 

This property is an entity of complex and historic relationships: between nature and human activity, between urban and rural life, between forest and refined architecture, and between the sinuous watercourses of the rivers and the geometrical design of the landscape.

Along with the Palace and its ornamental gardens, the property comprises diverse elements that make up its different zones: historic vegetable gardens, tree-lined avenues and groves, and the 18th century historic town centre, as well as rivers, fountains, farms and orchards.

Built at the end of the 16^th century, the Escurial Monastery stands on an exceptionally beautiful site at the foothills of the Sierra de Guadarrama, north-west of Madrid.  It was founded by Philip II as a monument and pantheon to the Spanish monarchs from Charles V onwards.

Within the monastery, there is an ensemble of different buildings: the church, the royal palace, the school, the seminary and the royal library are organised around a total of fourteen courtyards. The immense monastic complex is surrounded by gardens.