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  • Discover. Nine routes to discover a Madrid that you do not expect

What could a

Civil War bunker,

a

late 19th century

pediment

, or a chapel with frescoes by

Goya

have in common

?

They are all in Madrid and will open their doors from

March 1.

They are part of the free guided tours of the

Pasea Madrid

program

, an initiative of the Culture, Tourism and Sports area of ​​the City Council of the capital with the aim of disseminating and bringing its historical heritage to the citizens.

Of all the proposed routes, among the most popular are the

Beti Jai fronton,

the bunker at Parque del Capricho and the

hermitage of San Antonio de la Florida

, decorated with frescoes by Francisco de Goya.

THE MADRID OF THE PELOTARIS

Beti Jai, inaugurated in 1894 in the

Chamberí neighborhood

and with a capacity for 4,000 spectators, ran unequal luck during much of the 20th century (after being closed as a fronton, it was a car workshop, police station and even jail).

In 2015 it was acquired by the City Council, which turned to newspapers of the time, documentary collections from libraries, associations and experts to restore to this magnificent building designed by the architect Joaquín Rucoba all the original splendor of the time.

Frontón Beti Jai in Chamberí PHOTO: TOURISM OF MADRID

For its part, the

Parque del Capricho

located in Alameda de Osuna is one of the most beautiful green spaces in Madrid.

Created in 1784 under the auspices of María Josefa de la Soledad Alonso Pimentel,

Duchess of Osuna,

the park contains pavilions, hermitages, fountains, squares and a palace, closed for renovations, which will soon host an interactive museum with 3D projections, conference rooms and permanent exhibitions.

But what few know is that 15 meters below the palace and the gardens is hidden a whole network of galleries and rooms capable of resisting bombs of up to 100 kilos: the

bunker of the Jaca Position,

built in 1937 to house the General Headquarters of the Republican Army of the Center.

Today it is considered

unique in Europe

for its exceptional state of conservation.

Its 2,000 square meters are distributed in seven rectangular rooms, four exits to the park and an escape route to the street.

GOYA FRESH

Along with Beti Jai and the Capricho park, in this new edition of

Pasea Madrid,

Goya and La Florida

will repeat

a visit to the hermitage located next to the Parque del Oeste that the brilliant Aragonese painter decorated with frescoes representing the trance of Saint Anthony of Padua before the people of Lisbon and where the mortal remains of Francisco de Goya himself rest since 1919.

Frescoes of the dome of San Antonio de la Florida, by Goya.

Other routes present in previous editions and highly demanded by the public are the Mirador del Monumento a Alfonso XII, Paseo del Prado, El Retiro Park,

El otro Madrid Galdosiano

and the Ciudad Lineal district.

These will include five new visits:

Sabatini in Madrid,

which reveals the legacy of this outstanding Italian architect of the 18th century, as well as four routes to the outlying districts of

Fuencarral-El Pardo, San Blas-Canillejas, Latina and Vicálvaro.

The 13 themes of this edition will be distributed in 855 visits, almost all in the morning and

from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

, which will mean a total of 6,986 free places throughout the months of

March and April.

To be able to register for the

Pasea Madrid

initiative, it

is essential to be registered in the PLACT municipal platform (www.munimadrid.es) and request a place reservation at www.patrimonioypaisajes.madrid.es (the registration period will open on February 23 at 10:00 am).

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

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