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Casa de la Panadería

The Casa de la Panadería occupies the north side of Madrid's Plaza Mayor. It was built from 1590 on the initiative of the corregidor Luis Gaytán, to store grain and flour and ease the shortage of bread in the city; Juan Gómez de Mora transformed it and integrated it into the square's ensemble, completed in 1619. It is a four-storey building with an arcaded ground floor, an upper attic and towers at the ends. The ground floor housed the public bakery that gives it its name, while the main floor was reserved for the royal family to watch the events held in the square. A fire destroyed it in 1672 and another damaged it in 1790. Between 1774 and 1871 it was the seat of the Real Academia de la Historia, and later it passed to the City Council as the Archivo de Villa. Today it houses the Plaza Mayor Tourist Centre and the city's official shop. Its façade displays the murals painted in 1988 by Carlos Franco, with mythological references to the goddess Cybele.

Things to do at Casa de la Panadería: 3 missions

• Pick out the towers at the endsNotice the two towers that crown the ends of the building and the central balcony where the royal family used to appear.
• Look for the coat of arms of Spain on the façadeFind the coat of arms of Spain carved in relief on the façade, one of the heraldic elements of the building.
• Find the goddess Cybele on the façadeLook at the façade painted in 1988 by Carlos Franco and find the mythological allusion to the goddess Cybele among the figures depicted.

Near Casa de la Panadería

Source: esmadrid.com – Turismo de Madrid