This goes through the villages in the east of the Madrid Region and Las Vegas (plains) of the Jarama and Henares Rivers. These towns were formerly strong farming communities, but have gradually become overspill areas for Madrid and the large towns of Alcalá de Henares, Torrejón de Ardoz and San Fernando de Henares. From certain high spots, you can see the countryside planted with cereals, olive trees and vines, and where there are still some rural villages adhering to the agriculture of the past.
These towns have managed to preserve some of the most significant examples of Mudejar architecture in the Madrid Region, a style that used from the end of the 12th century to the beginning of the 16th in Christian territory, but using the shapes and techniques introduced by the Moors. Building with brick and polychromed wooden roofs are some of the main features, with no great change to the mediaeval forms. There are several other artistic styles from later centuries to be seen on this route, such as the elegant Renaissance style of many buildings in Alcalá de Henares, or the splendid Baroque of Nuevo Baztán, a town considered to be a model for urban and industrial development in the 18th century.
Cultivated land and meadows, churches, pantheons and convents, universities and cathedrals, palaces and the old parts of villages are the historical and artistic heritage of ancient towns that are mostly little-known. Some, such as Alcalá de Henares, have already achieved World Heritage status. Together, they hold a great legacy of the past of the Madrid Region.
Paracuellos de Jarama [+]
Moorish in origin, it belonged to the Order of Santiago, and later to the Medinaceli estate, as proved by the coats of arms in San Vicente Mártir church (16th century). Medinaceli Palace: the structure, a shield and the Castilian patio with stone columns still remain, but these days it is a public building. Cemetery commemorating the battle of Madrid (1936-1939).
Daganzo de Arriba [+]
Impressive views of the countryside. Church (15th-17th centuries) with a Mudejar tower and Renaissance portal, floor-plan with three naves with Tuscan pillars, Gothic holy water font.
Algete [+]
Plateresque church (16th century); there are paintings by Carducho, court painter to Philip IV.
Valdeolmos-Alalpardo [+]
Moorish in origin, it has been a "villa" (town with special privileges) since 1563. Valdeolmos: Inmaculada church (16th century), Renaissance portal, chapel with Gothic roof, Visigothic tombstone and a 16th-century font. Alalpardo: San Cristóbal church, Gothic-Mudejar, single nave with wooden roof and masonry walls.
Camarma de Esteruelas
Founded in the 13th century. San Pedro church (16th century): Romanesque-Mudejar apse, with remains of paintings from the same era.
Meco [+]
Perhaps this was the Roman "Miacum"; the Moors settled here and it was a hamlet in Guadalajara dependent on the Casa del Infantado. "Villa" since 1479. La Asunción de Nuestra Señora church, "The Cathedral": three polychromed altarpieces and a grill from the 16th century. House of the Inquisition: much restored; the Catholic Monarchs put an end to the Mendoza family here.
Alcalá de Henares [+]
Declared a World Heritage town. The Mudéjar style can be seen in many of the buildings here. Archbishop's Palace: built in the 14th century in the Mudejar style with later additions. The coffering and decoration in what was the Council Chamber were lost in the fire of 1939.The Torreón de Tenorio is original; a new chapel built in 1997 replaces the former salon. Catherine of Aragon, daughter of the Catholic Monarchs and Queen of England was born here. San Ildefonso College Hall: centre of the Complutense University in Alcalá; it was built in 1494 in the Mudejar style of the times of Cardinal Cisneros, later styles added more grandeur; the assembly hall and San Ildefonso chapel are decorated in plasterwork, harmonising the Gothic style under Isabella I, the Mudejar and the Plateresque; both buildings are decorated with beautiful polychromed, wooden coffering; San Ildefonso chapel contains Cardinal Cisneros's cenotaph.
Antezana Hospital (1483): built with the techniques of the Mudejar style of Toledo. Ursuline Convent (16th century): the church was built in the late Mudejar style and still keeps its fine coffering. Oidor chapel (15th century), beautiful Mudejar plasterwork and the font where Cervantes was baptised.
Other monuments of interest are: San Bernardo monastery (17th century), La Magistral (1497-1514), Casa de la Entrevista, Casa Natal-Cervantes Museum, Archaeological Museum of Alcalá de Henares.
Los Santos de la Humosa
San Pedro church (16th-17th centuries), transition from Gothic to Renaissance; impressive views over the plains of the Henares River.
Santorcaz [+]
One of the oldest towns in the Madrid Region, settled by Celt-Iberians and a central town mentioned by Ptolomy. San Torcuato church: Mudejar nave and tower, 18th-century stalls. Remains of Torremocha castle (13th-15th centuries): this was a prison for Cardinal Cisneros, Francois I of France when he was taken to Madrid, and the Princess of Eboli.
Nuevo Baztán [+]
Founded in 1709 as an urban model by Juan de Goyeneche, a businessman and personal friend of Charles II. Families from Navarre, Castile, Belgium and Portugal lived there; there was a large ceramics and glass industry. The project and the church-palace site were built by José Benito Churriguera.
Campo Real [+]
Famous for its fine food products: excellent olives, oil and sheep's cheese. Nuestra Señora del Castillo church (12th-13th centuries): transition from Romanesque to Gothic, it contains two Gothic pulpits.
Loeches [+]
Two convents were built in the same square, and both can be visited. The older is the Convent of the Discalced Carmelites: The Dominican convent was founded by the Conde-Duque de Olivares, favourite of Philip IV; the pantheon of the House of Alba was built next to it in 1909; the nuns make delicious cakes of many types which they sell from behind a revolving window.
Velilla de San Antonio
Magnificent view of the shrine of Cristo de Rivas.
Mejorada del Campo [+]
Founded in the 12th century, it formed part of the property of the Archbishopric of Toledo. Natividad de Nuestra Señora church (16th century): Camino de Vicálvaro: Cristo de Rivas, views of the Jarama River and the chalk cliffs stretching to San Martín de la Vega; on 29th September, homage is paid to an Ecce Homo of 1636. On the road to San Fernando de Henares: El Negralejo palace, a site of labourers' houses with chapel and small palace (17th-19th centuries), interesting example of rural living.
Torrejón de Ardoz [+]
Originally a Moorish town, although only the La Casa Grande remains from its past; it was founded by María of Austria and run by the Jesuits of the Imperial College in Madrid until they were expelled; it was one of the most important agricultural centres in the region; it houses the Icon Museum, with about 1,500 exhibits from the 12th to the 20th centuries.
San Fernando de Henares [+]
In 1747, Ferdinand VI ordered a Baroque estate to be built, with a well-kept vegetable garden to supply the royal household. There was a factory making paper and fine cloth, as well as a fulling mill; a terrible epidemic put an end to this wonderful industrial site. There is a statue to Ferdinand IV and an 18th-century palace.
Other towns and villages
Cobeña, Valdeavero, Pezuela de las Torres, Olmeda de las Fuentes and Pozuelo del Rey.
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