Author: Jesús Escobar
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271091886
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 639
Book Description
With its selection as the court of the Spanish Habsburgs, Madrid became the de facto capital of a global empire, a place from which momentous decisions were made whose implications were felt in all corners of a vast domain. By the seventeenth century, however, political theory produced in the Monarquía Hispánica dealt primarily with the concept of decline. In this book, Jesús Escobar argues that the buildings of Madrid tell a different story about the final years of the Habsburg dynasty. Madrid took on a grander public face over the course of the seventeenth century, creating a “court space” for residents and visitors alike. Drawing from the representation of the city’s architecture in prints, books, and paintings, as well as re-created plans standing in for lost documents, Escobar demonstrates how, through shared forms and building materials, the architecture of Madrid embodied the monarchy and promoted its chief political ideals of justice and good government. Habsburg Madrid explores palaces, public plazas, a town hall, a courthouse, and a prison, narrating the lived experience of architecture in a city where a wide roster of protagonists, from architects and builders to royal patrons, court bureaucrats, and private citizens, helped shape a modern capital. Richly illustrated, highly original, and written by a leading scholar in the field, this volume disrupts the traditional narrative about seventeenth-century Spanish decadencia. It will be welcomed by specialists in Habsburg Spain and by historians of art, architecture, culture, economics, and politics.
Habsburg Madrid
Author: Jesús Escobar
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271091886
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 639
Book Description
With its selection as the court of the Spanish Habsburgs, Madrid became the de facto capital of a global empire, a place from which momentous decisions were made whose implications were felt in all corners of a vast domain. By the seventeenth century, however, political theory produced in the Monarquía Hispánica dealt primarily with the concept of decline. In this book, Jesús Escobar argues that the buildings of Madrid tell a different story about the final years of the Habsburg dynasty. Madrid took on a grander public face over the course of the seventeenth century, creating a “court space” for residents and visitors alike. Drawing from the representation of the city’s architecture in prints, books, and paintings, as well as re-created plans standing in for lost documents, Escobar demonstrates how, through shared forms and building materials, the architecture of Madrid embodied the monarchy and promoted its chief political ideals of justice and good government. Habsburg Madrid explores palaces, public plazas, a town hall, a courthouse, and a prison, narrating the lived experience of architecture in a city where a wide roster of protagonists, from architects and builders to royal patrons, court bureaucrats, and private citizens, helped shape a modern capital. Richly illustrated, highly original, and written by a leading scholar in the field, this volume disrupts the traditional narrative about seventeenth-century Spanish decadencia. It will be welcomed by specialists in Habsburg Spain and by historians of art, architecture, culture, economics, and politics.
Publisher: Penn State Press
ISBN: 0271091886
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 639
Book Description
With its selection as the court of the Spanish Habsburgs, Madrid became the de facto capital of a global empire, a place from which momentous decisions were made whose implications were felt in all corners of a vast domain. By the seventeenth century, however, political theory produced in the Monarquía Hispánica dealt primarily with the concept of decline. In this book, Jesús Escobar argues that the buildings of Madrid tell a different story about the final years of the Habsburg dynasty. Madrid took on a grander public face over the course of the seventeenth century, creating a “court space” for residents and visitors alike. Drawing from the representation of the city’s architecture in prints, books, and paintings, as well as re-created plans standing in for lost documents, Escobar demonstrates how, through shared forms and building materials, the architecture of Madrid embodied the monarchy and promoted its chief political ideals of justice and good government. Habsburg Madrid explores palaces, public plazas, a town hall, a courthouse, and a prison, narrating the lived experience of architecture in a city where a wide roster of protagonists, from architects and builders to royal patrons, court bureaucrats, and private citizens, helped shape a modern capital. Richly illustrated, highly original, and written by a leading scholar in the field, this volume disrupts the traditional narrative about seventeenth-century Spanish decadencia. It will be welcomed by specialists in Habsburg Spain and by historians of art, architecture, culture, economics, and politics.
Festival Culture in the World of the Spanish Habsburgs
Author: Professor Fernando Checa Cremades
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 140943561X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323
Book Description
Festivals and ceremonials played a major role in the Spanish world; through them local identities as well as a common Spanish culture made their presence manifest within and beyond the peninsula through ephemeral displays, music and print. This book explores Habsburg Visual culture at court and its connection with the creation of a language of triumph, the relationship between religion and the empire, and examines cultural, artistic and musical exchange in Naples and Rome. Taken together these essays contribute further to our growing appreciation of the importance of early-modern festival culture in general, and their significance in the world of the Spanish Habsburgs in particular.
Publisher: Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 140943561X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 323
Book Description
Festivals and ceremonials played a major role in the Spanish world; through them local identities as well as a common Spanish culture made their presence manifest within and beyond the peninsula through ephemeral displays, music and print. This book explores Habsburg Visual culture at court and its connection with the creation of a language of triumph, the relationship between religion and the empire, and examines cultural, artistic and musical exchange in Naples and Rome. Taken together these essays contribute further to our growing appreciation of the importance of early-modern festival culture in general, and their significance in the world of the Spanish Habsburgs in particular.
Festival Culture in the World of the Spanish Habsburgs
Author: Fernando Checa Cremades
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131713561X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Early Modern Festivals. These spectacles articulated the self-image of ruling elites and played out the tensions of the diverse social strata. Responding to the growing academic interest in festivals this volume focuses on the early modern Iberian world, in particular the spectacles staged by and for the Spanish Habsburgs. The study of early modern Iberian festival culture in Europe and the wider world is surprisingly limited compared to the published works devoted to other kingdoms at the time. There is a clear need for scholarly publications to examine festivals as a vehicle for the presence of Spanish culture beyond territorial boundaries. The present books responds to this shortcoming. Festivals and ceremonials played a major role in the Spanish world; through them local identities as well as a common Spanish culture made their presence manifest within and beyond the peninsula through ephemeral displays, music and print. Local communities often conflated their symbols of identity with religious images and representations of the Spanish monarchy. The festivals (fiestas in Spanish) materialized the presence of the Spanish diaspora in other European realms. Royal funerals and proclamations served to establish kingly presence in distant and not so distant lands. The socio-political, religious and cultural nuances that were an intrinsic part of the territories of the empire were magnified and celebrated in the Spanish festivals in Europe, Iberia and overseas viceroyalties. Following a foreword and an introduction the remaining 12 chapters are divided up into four sections. The first explores Habsburg Visual culture at court and its relationship with the creation of a language of triumph and the use of tapestries in festivals. The second part examines triumphal entries in Madrid, Lisbon, Cremona, Milan, Pavia and the New World; the third deals with the relationship between religion and the empire through the examination of royal funerals, hagiography and calendric celebrations. The fourth part of the book explores cultural, artistic and musical exchange in Naples and Rome. Taken together these essays contribute further to our growing appreciation of the importance of early-modern festival culture in general, and their significance in the world of the Spanish Habsburgs in particular.
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 131713561X
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 322
Book Description
In recent years, there has been an increasing interest in Early Modern Festivals. These spectacles articulated the self-image of ruling elites and played out the tensions of the diverse social strata. Responding to the growing academic interest in festivals this volume focuses on the early modern Iberian world, in particular the spectacles staged by and for the Spanish Habsburgs. The study of early modern Iberian festival culture in Europe and the wider world is surprisingly limited compared to the published works devoted to other kingdoms at the time. There is a clear need for scholarly publications to examine festivals as a vehicle for the presence of Spanish culture beyond territorial boundaries. The present books responds to this shortcoming. Festivals and ceremonials played a major role in the Spanish world; through them local identities as well as a common Spanish culture made their presence manifest within and beyond the peninsula through ephemeral displays, music and print. Local communities often conflated their symbols of identity with religious images and representations of the Spanish monarchy. The festivals (fiestas in Spanish) materialized the presence of the Spanish diaspora in other European realms. Royal funerals and proclamations served to establish kingly presence in distant and not so distant lands. The socio-political, religious and cultural nuances that were an intrinsic part of the territories of the empire were magnified and celebrated in the Spanish festivals in Europe, Iberia and overseas viceroyalties. Following a foreword and an introduction the remaining 12 chapters are divided up into four sections. The first explores Habsburg Visual culture at court and its relationship with the creation of a language of triumph and the use of tapestries in festivals. The second part examines triumphal entries in Madrid, Lisbon, Cremona, Milan, Pavia and the New World; the third deals with the relationship between religion and the empire through the examination of royal funerals, hagiography and calendric celebrations. The fourth part of the book explores cultural, artistic and musical exchange in Naples and Rome. Taken together these essays contribute further to our growing appreciation of the importance of early-modern festival culture in general, and their significance in the world of the Spanish Habsburgs in particular.
A Constellation of Courts
Author: René Vermeir
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789461661326
Category : Austria
Languages : en
Pages : 393
Book Description
"This volume focuses on the various Habsburg courts and households among the two branches of the dynasty that arose following the division of the territories originally held by Charles V. The authors trace the connections between these courtly communities regardless of their standing or composition, exposing the underlying network they formed. By cutting across the traditional division in the historiography between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs and also examining the roles played by the courts and households of lesser known members of the dynasty, this volume determines to what degree the organization followed a particular model and to what extent individuals were able to move between courts in pursuit of career opportunities and advancement."--Back cover.
Publisher:
ISBN: 9789461661326
Category : Austria
Languages : en
Pages : 393
Book Description
"This volume focuses on the various Habsburg courts and households among the two branches of the dynasty that arose following the division of the territories originally held by Charles V. The authors trace the connections between these courtly communities regardless of their standing or composition, exposing the underlying network they formed. By cutting across the traditional division in the historiography between the Spanish and Austrian Habsburgs and also examining the roles played by the courts and households of lesser known members of the dynasty, this volume determines to what degree the organization followed a particular model and to what extent individuals were able to move between courts in pursuit of career opportunities and advancement."--Back cover.
The Habsburgs
Author: Benjamin Curtis
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441100539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
The Habsburgs rank among the most celebrated ruling dynasties in history. At one point, their territories stretched not only across Europe but across the globe, into Asia, Africa and the Americas. By virtue of their long pre-eminence, the family made an indelible mark on European affairs, shaping the course of international politics and diplomacy, and knitting together the diverse peoples of Central Europe. The story of the Habsburgs is theatrical and compelling, but it is also vital for understanding how kings ruled, nations rose, and societies changed as modern Europe came into being. In this book, Benjamin Curtis explores both the Spanish and Austrian branches of the dynasty, providing a concise, comprehensive picture of the dynasty's development. This study clearly demonstrates why the Habsburgs are considered the most consistently accomplished practitioners of European dynasticism.
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 1441100539
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 313
Book Description
The Habsburgs rank among the most celebrated ruling dynasties in history. At one point, their territories stretched not only across Europe but across the globe, into Asia, Africa and the Americas. By virtue of their long pre-eminence, the family made an indelible mark on European affairs, shaping the course of international politics and diplomacy, and knitting together the diverse peoples of Central Europe. The story of the Habsburgs is theatrical and compelling, but it is also vital for understanding how kings ruled, nations rose, and societies changed as modern Europe came into being. In this book, Benjamin Curtis explores both the Spanish and Austrian branches of the dynasty, providing a concise, comprehensive picture of the dynasty's development. This study clearly demonstrates why the Habsburgs are considered the most consistently accomplished practitioners of European dynasticism.
The Spanish Habsburgs and Dynastic Rule, 1500–1700
Author: Elisabeth Geevers
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000909360
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
Providing a novel research methodology for students and scholars with an interest in dynasties, at all levels, this book explores the Spanish Habsburg dynasty that ruled the Spanish monarchy between c. 1515 and 1700. Instead of focusing on the reigns of successive kings, the book focuses on the Habsburgs as a family group that was constructed in various ways: as a community of heirs, a genealogical narrative, a community of the dead and a ruling family group. These constructions reflect the fact that dynasties do not only exist in the present, as kings, queens or governors, but also in the past, in genealogies, and in the future, as a group of hypothetical heirs. This book analyses how dynasties were ‘made’ by the people belonging to them. It uses a social institutionalist framework to analyse how family dynamics gave rise to practices and roles. The kings of Spain only had limited power to control the construction of their dynasty, since births and deaths, processes of dynastic centralisation, pressure from subjects, relatives’ individual agency, rivalry among relatives and the institutionalisation of roles limited their power. Including several genealogical tables to support students new to the Spanish Habsburgs, this book is essential reading for all students of early modern Europe and the history of monarchy. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
ISBN: 1000909360
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 265
Book Description
Providing a novel research methodology for students and scholars with an interest in dynasties, at all levels, this book explores the Spanish Habsburg dynasty that ruled the Spanish monarchy between c. 1515 and 1700. Instead of focusing on the reigns of successive kings, the book focuses on the Habsburgs as a family group that was constructed in various ways: as a community of heirs, a genealogical narrative, a community of the dead and a ruling family group. These constructions reflect the fact that dynasties do not only exist in the present, as kings, queens or governors, but also in the past, in genealogies, and in the future, as a group of hypothetical heirs. This book analyses how dynasties were ‘made’ by the people belonging to them. It uses a social institutionalist framework to analyse how family dynamics gave rise to practices and roles. The kings of Spain only had limited power to control the construction of their dynasty, since births and deaths, processes of dynastic centralisation, pressure from subjects, relatives’ individual agency, rivalry among relatives and the institutionalisation of roles limited their power. Including several genealogical tables to support students new to the Spanish Habsburgs, this book is essential reading for all students of early modern Europe and the history of monarchy. The Open Access version of this book, available at www.taylorfrancis.com, has been made available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license.
Scots in Habsburg Service
Author: D. C. Worthington
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004135758
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360
Book Description
This book offers an original approach to the study of the Scottish diaspora in Europe. It highlights the activities of a group of emigrants and exiles who served the twin-headed Habsburg dynasty during the first half of the seventeenth century.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9789004135758
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 360
Book Description
This book offers an original approach to the study of the Scottish diaspora in Europe. It highlights the activities of a group of emigrants and exiles who served the twin-headed Habsburg dynasty during the first half of the seventeenth century.
A Companion to Music at the Habsburg Courts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
Author:
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004435034
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 653
Book Description
A Companion to Music at the Habsburgs Courts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, edited by Andrew H. Weaver, is the first in-depth survey of Habsburg musical patronage over a broad timeframe. Bringing together existing research and drawing upon primary sources, the authors, all established experts, provide overviews of the musical institutions, the functions of music, the styles and genres cultivated, and the historical, political, and cultural contexts for music at the Habsburg courts. The wide geographical scope includes the imperial courts in Vienna and Prague, the royal court in Madrid, the archducal courts in Graz and Innsbruck, and others. This broad view of Habsburg musical activities affirms the dynasty’s unique position in the cultural life of early modern Europe. Contributors are Lawrence Bennett, Charles E. Brewer, Drew Edward Davies, Paula Sutter Fichtner, Alexander J. Fisher, Christine Getz, Beth L. Glixon, Jeffrey Kurtzman, Virginia Christy Lamothe, Honey Meconi, Sara Pecknold, Jonas Pfohl, Pablo L. Rodríguez, Steven Saunders, Herbert Seifert, Louise K. Stein, and Andrew H. Weaver.
Publisher: BRILL
ISBN: 9004435034
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 653
Book Description
A Companion to Music at the Habsburgs Courts in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries, edited by Andrew H. Weaver, is the first in-depth survey of Habsburg musical patronage over a broad timeframe. Bringing together existing research and drawing upon primary sources, the authors, all established experts, provide overviews of the musical institutions, the functions of music, the styles and genres cultivated, and the historical, political, and cultural contexts for music at the Habsburg courts. The wide geographical scope includes the imperial courts in Vienna and Prague, the royal court in Madrid, the archducal courts in Graz and Innsbruck, and others. This broad view of Habsburg musical activities affirms the dynasty’s unique position in the cultural life of early modern Europe. Contributors are Lawrence Bennett, Charles E. Brewer, Drew Edward Davies, Paula Sutter Fichtner, Alexander J. Fisher, Christine Getz, Beth L. Glixon, Jeffrey Kurtzman, Virginia Christy Lamothe, Honey Meconi, Sara Pecknold, Jonas Pfohl, Pablo L. Rodríguez, Steven Saunders, Herbert Seifert, Louise K. Stein, and Andrew H. Weaver.
The Royal Chapel in the Time of the Habsburgs
Author: Juan José Carreras López
Publisher: Boydell Press
ISBN: 9781843831396
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
Focusing on the royal chapel established by Philip II in Madrid, the essays in this richly illustrated volume offer a series of different perspectives on the development of the main court chapels of Europe. English version edited by Tess Knighton The royal chapel, in Europe as a whole and in Spain in particular, was a cultural institution where court ceremonial, politics, music and the arts were brought together in terms of space and function. The ramifications for the patronage and cultivation of the arts and the dynamic between music and the arts and the concept of kingship form the focus of the text. The phenomenon of groupings of singers, chaplainsand musicians at the service of the different European monarchies is of great significance both for the history of music, and the political and cultural history of the court in general. The royal chapel established by Philip II in Madrid was the central religious and musical institution of royal power until well into the eighteenth century, and using this as a focus, the essays in this richly illustrated volume offer a series of different perspectives onthe development of the main court chapels of Europe. These papers were delivered at the international seminar, 'La Real Capilla de Palacio en la época de los Austrias', under the auspices of the Fundación Carlos de Amberes,Madrid from 14 to 16 December, 2000. The volume is edited by Tess Knighton, Juan José Carreras and Bernardo García García, and translated by Yolanda Acker.
Publisher: Boydell Press
ISBN: 9781843831396
Category : Architecture
Languages : en
Pages : 424
Book Description
Focusing on the royal chapel established by Philip II in Madrid, the essays in this richly illustrated volume offer a series of different perspectives on the development of the main court chapels of Europe. English version edited by Tess Knighton The royal chapel, in Europe as a whole and in Spain in particular, was a cultural institution where court ceremonial, politics, music and the arts were brought together in terms of space and function. The ramifications for the patronage and cultivation of the arts and the dynamic between music and the arts and the concept of kingship form the focus of the text. The phenomenon of groupings of singers, chaplainsand musicians at the service of the different European monarchies is of great significance both for the history of music, and the political and cultural history of the court in general. The royal chapel established by Philip II in Madrid was the central religious and musical institution of royal power until well into the eighteenth century, and using this as a focus, the essays in this richly illustrated volume offer a series of different perspectives onthe development of the main court chapels of Europe. These papers were delivered at the international seminar, 'La Real Capilla de Palacio en la época de los Austrias', under the auspices of the Fundación Carlos de Amberes,Madrid from 14 to 16 December, 2000. The volume is edited by Tess Knighton, Juan José Carreras and Bernardo García García, and translated by Yolanda Acker.
Madrid and Its Surroundings
Author: Kelly Lipscomb
Publisher: Hunter Publishing, Inc
ISBN: 1588437159
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 73
Book Description
The autonomous community of Madrid occupies the geographical center of Spain. With over three million people, Madrid is the bull''s-eye on this mostly dry, rolling high plain that is part of the expansive Meseta Central characterizing much of the province and the country around it. The city''s elevation, at 2,100 feet above sea level, makes it the highest European capital and the one with the most startling climatic extremes. The Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains, a great mass of granite rising in the north, is a continuation of the country''s central mountain range, the Cordillera Central. Just a short jaunt from Madrid, this realm enjoys cool weather year-round and forms a stunning visual contrast to the plains surrounding Madrid, with its slopes covered in pine forests and the prismatic bands of the rivers Manzanares and Jarama coursing southward toward the larger Tagus. The range serves to separate Madrid from Castilla y Len to the north and west, while the south of the province is bordered by the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. The Communidad de Madrid is not all one big city. Areas around the perimeter are still relatively natural or, at the least, retaining of a more traditional charm with their poultry houses and pig farms, rather than high rises and smokestacks. On the lower slopes of the Guadarrama, small villages are isolated and free of tourists for much of the year. Trails are marked throughout and, in good years, snow is plentiful enough to ski. South of Madrid, the beautiful city of Aranjuez is lush and leisurely along the banks of turquoise waters and to the west the monumental El Escorial makes a perfect day-trip en route to the popular cities of Segovia or Salamanca on the far side of the mountains. Madrid has been called the greatest Spanish city. There is no denying its supremacy in the realms of commerce, politics and sport (the sharply divided Spaniards agree on one thing: Real Madrid soccer team is the surest bet). And there''s no escaping its romping, rollicking late-night tendencies. Madrid is any other Spanish city on speed. A newcomer could easily get lost, bewildered and frustrated in the crowds. At each turn harried masses dash to and fro, appearing bent on some purpose and yet, despite the prevailing rush, the Madrileos are, by and large, as welcoming and friendly as a rural Galician or a lonely Extremaduran. The shoeshine man in Plaza Mayor is content to people-watch rather than polish shoes and earn a few coins; the singing guitarist outside Caf(r) Oriente still smiles when a tourist refuses to tip him; the sharp-suited executive lingers in Casa Pablo for another drink or two, for the whole afternoon, rather than return to work. With a population representative of every Spanish region, with the nation''s greatest collection of artworks on display in the nation''s best museums, there is no greater whirlwind introduction to the country than by way of Madrid. Once you''ve roamed the halls of the Prado for hours on end and still not seen all the works, or danced away the night at Palacio only to learn the following day that a far better and less-touristy disco is just around the corner, then you will understand why Madrid is best approached on its own terms. It isn''t a love affair that keeps people coming back to this city time and again, but more like a life-long courtship. Here is a highly detailed guide to Madrid and the surrounding areas - loaded with maps, photos, and all the information you need about restaurants, hotels, what to see and what to do. This is an excerpt from our 670-page Spain Adventure Guide and it includes an extensive Introduction on Spain as a whole. The book is equivalent to about 150 pages in print.
Publisher: Hunter Publishing, Inc
ISBN: 1588437159
Category : Travel
Languages : en
Pages : 73
Book Description
The autonomous community of Madrid occupies the geographical center of Spain. With over three million people, Madrid is the bull''s-eye on this mostly dry, rolling high plain that is part of the expansive Meseta Central characterizing much of the province and the country around it. The city''s elevation, at 2,100 feet above sea level, makes it the highest European capital and the one with the most startling climatic extremes. The Sierra de Guadarrama Mountains, a great mass of granite rising in the north, is a continuation of the country''s central mountain range, the Cordillera Central. Just a short jaunt from Madrid, this realm enjoys cool weather year-round and forms a stunning visual contrast to the plains surrounding Madrid, with its slopes covered in pine forests and the prismatic bands of the rivers Manzanares and Jarama coursing southward toward the larger Tagus. The range serves to separate Madrid from Castilla y Len to the north and west, while the south of the province is bordered by the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha. The Communidad de Madrid is not all one big city. Areas around the perimeter are still relatively natural or, at the least, retaining of a more traditional charm with their poultry houses and pig farms, rather than high rises and smokestacks. On the lower slopes of the Guadarrama, small villages are isolated and free of tourists for much of the year. Trails are marked throughout and, in good years, snow is plentiful enough to ski. South of Madrid, the beautiful city of Aranjuez is lush and leisurely along the banks of turquoise waters and to the west the monumental El Escorial makes a perfect day-trip en route to the popular cities of Segovia or Salamanca on the far side of the mountains. Madrid has been called the greatest Spanish city. There is no denying its supremacy in the realms of commerce, politics and sport (the sharply divided Spaniards agree on one thing: Real Madrid soccer team is the surest bet). And there''s no escaping its romping, rollicking late-night tendencies. Madrid is any other Spanish city on speed. A newcomer could easily get lost, bewildered and frustrated in the crowds. At each turn harried masses dash to and fro, appearing bent on some purpose and yet, despite the prevailing rush, the Madrileos are, by and large, as welcoming and friendly as a rural Galician or a lonely Extremaduran. The shoeshine man in Plaza Mayor is content to people-watch rather than polish shoes and earn a few coins; the singing guitarist outside Caf(r) Oriente still smiles when a tourist refuses to tip him; the sharp-suited executive lingers in Casa Pablo for another drink or two, for the whole afternoon, rather than return to work. With a population representative of every Spanish region, with the nation''s greatest collection of artworks on display in the nation''s best museums, there is no greater whirlwind introduction to the country than by way of Madrid. Once you''ve roamed the halls of the Prado for hours on end and still not seen all the works, or danced away the night at Palacio only to learn the following day that a far better and less-touristy disco is just around the corner, then you will understand why Madrid is best approached on its own terms. It isn''t a love affair that keeps people coming back to this city time and again, but more like a life-long courtship. Here is a highly detailed guide to Madrid and the surrounding areas - loaded with maps, photos, and all the information you need about restaurants, hotels, what to see and what to do. This is an excerpt from our 670-page Spain Adventure Guide and it includes an extensive Introduction on Spain as a whole. The book is equivalent to about 150 pages in print.