History, religion and culture come together in this riverside city on the fertile plain of the river which lends it its name. Alcalá de Henares is the city of Cervantes, of the Archpriest of Hita, of Cardinal Cisneros and of Manual Azaña; of the University, of the Complutense Polyglot Bible and of the first Spanish Grammar. In addition to Cervantes and Cisneros, Antonio de Nebrija and the saints Justo and Pastor rest here, and Quevedo and García Lorca characters come to life again.
Alcalá de Henares was founded on the ancient Iberian settlements standing on the rich soils of the fertile plain of the Henares river. It was here that the ancient Complutum, founded by the Romans in the C1st BC, emerged. Abundant archaeological remains, in the form of mosaics and hot baths, vouch for its ancient origins. The current existence of flourishing companies make it one of the most important towns in the autonomous region of Madrid. The fact that it was declared a historic-artistic site in 1968, that the university was recovered in 1975, and that it was converted once again into an Episcopal seat in 1991, in addition to its industrial importance and its recent naming as a world heritage city, all make Alcalá a unique city in the eyes of the traveller.
What to See
The University
Alcalá de Henares has been a cradle not only of illustrious men, but also of culture ever since 1499 when Cardinal Cisneros founded the university under the name of Colegio Mayor de San Ildefonso. From that moment on, in terms of its culture and town planning, the whole city revolved around the new Complutense University which was soon to acquire great prestige throughout Europe. A good deal of the great figures of the Spanish Golden Age, clergymen, writers and playwrights, doctors, and scientists studied here, in conjunction with a simultaneous resurgence of its town centre. Streets, squares and convents emerged which gave shelter to all kinds of folk, and masterpieces were created which were recognised worldwide. In 1836, Isabel II transferred the Complutense University to Madrid, and the university activities were not recovered until 1977.
The Archbishop's Palace
Practically adjoining the wall, we find the Archbishop's Palace, inaugurated by Prelate Sancho in the late C18th. It was the seat of the synods and councils of the diocese of Toledo and accommodated kings and queens and pontiffs during their visits. The building combines styles ranging from Toledo Mudejar to the Renaissance, which echo its different times and owners. The original C16th Archbishop's Palace had five patios: the Patio de Columnas, the Patio de Armas, the Patio del Ave María, the Patio de la Fuente and the Patio del Aleluya. Today it is being newly restored after it suffered irreparable damage in a fire which broke out in 1940, from which only the façade was saved, and which boasts a large coat of arms belonging to the Cardinal-Infante Luis Antonio de Borbón.
Magisterial-cathedral church
On the site where the child saints Justo and Pastor were martyred in the late C15th, Cardinal Cisneros commissioned the construction of a church which was to become the future magisterial cathedral. Of late Gothic style, it is one of the only two magisterial churches in the world, together with the church of San Pedro de Lovaina in Belgium. This is a category which was granted by pontiffs when all the clergymen were "magisters" or university professors. On the outside, its enormous three-bodied bell tower, finished in the C17th, is noteworthy. On the inside, comprising three aisles and ribbed vaults, we can find the graves of the child saints Justo and Pastor, located below the high altar, in an C18th silver urn. The church preserves part of its ancient and rich heritage, such as the urn containing the relics of San Diego, a gift from King Felipe II, and the Chalice of Cisneros, as well as a valuable art collection.
Casa de los Lizana
The former palace of Juana de Mendoza, it was subsequently given to the Dominican nuns of Santa Catalina, and from 1607 onwards was the seat of the college for theology and jurisprudence students founded by Lucas González de Alcides. Of plateresque style, its beautiful façade featuring the figures of a lion and a leopard joined by chains, and a magnificent decorated window between the two, is noteworthy. It is currently owned by the town council which is planning on converting it back to its original university status.
Convent of San Bernardo
Very close to the Archbishop's Palace, we find the ancient convent of San Bernardo, considered to be the most important, from an artistic point of view, of the nine enclosed convents which still remain in the town. It was founded in 1618 by Cardinal Bernardo de Sandoval, Archbishop of Toledo, for the nuns of the Cistercian order. The main brick façade boasts three stone doorways and has a niche containing the image of San Bernardo in the main one. On the inside, the convent, whose floor and large dome are oval in shape, features six adjoining chapels, decorated with works by Angelo Nardi, one of Felipe III's chamber painters.
Casa Museo de Cervantes
Rodrigo Cervantes lived in the Calle Mayor. He was a doctor at the adjoining hospital of Antezana, the oldest in Spain, which was built in 1483 as a charitable institution for the poor, the sick, passersthrough and strangers, and which today preserves its activity thanks to a group of nuns. The Casa de Cervantes, restored in 1956, has maintained its original style. Its façade is stone and brick and it has bars on its windows. Its two floors are articulated around a patio containing eight granite and stone columns, rounded off with Corinthian capitals which support the upper gallery. The furniture shows the life of a well-off, C16th family. On the ground floor, we find the rooms where the domestic activity took place, including the reception rooms, the kitchen and the embroidery room. The upper floor houses the bedrooms containing beds, armchairs, Castilian-style writing desks, and some pictures and engravings of the time.
Plaza de Cervantes
If we walk along Calle Mayor, the centre of the city of Alcalá de Henares, we will come to the ancient market square, a dividing line between the mediaeval city and the university city which emerged in the C16th. Today, through its name, this square pays tribute to Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra, who was born in Alcalá where his father was a surgeon. On one side of the square, the tower of the church of Santa María la Mayor, where the eminent author of El Quijote was christened, has been preserved. In addition to its tower, the church, destroyed by a fire in 1936 during the Spanish Civil War, conserves part of the apse and some chapels which have been rebuilt. The Chapel of the Oidor, founded as a family vault by Pedro Díaz de Toledo, one of Juan II's judges, and which contains the font where Miguel de Cervantes was christened, also remains standing.
Palace of Laredo
Built in 1882 for Manuel José de Laredo, it was decorated using geometrical subjects on its façades, which were made out of brick in keeping with neo-Mudejar norms. Inside, there is a central hall which houses paintings by Laredo himself and some rooms decorated with motifs of the Alhambra in Granada. It has been declared as a historic-artistic monument.
Walls
To finish off our tour of Alcalá, it suffices to take a glance at the walled enclosure, built between the C14th and C15th, although it only preserves ten fortified towers and two of its entrances: the Puerta de Burgos and the Puerta de Madrid. The latter was rebuilt by Cardinal Lorenzana in 1788. All along the Via Complutense, in the gardens which surround the walled enclosure,we find an open-air sculpture museum which was inaugurated in 1993 and aims to become the largest in Europe. It houses the best Spanish sculptures over the last decades. A visit to this museum involves a pleasant stroll after lunch at one of the Castilian restaurants which can be found in the town.
