Page 104 - 360.revista de Alta Velocidad - Nº 6

Ayrault Pérez, Juan

3.2 The Age of Enlightenment

During the reign of Fernando VI, around 1750, a network of tree‐lined avenues, the so‐called
Baroque Fork (Tridente Barroco), was designed and built by Joseph Salcedo, a military engineer.
The pattern of roads organized all the territory between the south wall and the river with no
purpose of fostering the enlargement of the city, constrained by the taxing walls.

Figure 3: Paseo de las Delicias in 1770 by José Bayeu. Figure 4: The Baroque Fork designed by Joseph Salcedo.
Source: Museo del Prado. Source: http://www.madrid.org/cartografia/planea/carto‐
grafia/html/web/index.htm

The Prado, that was inside the walls, kept its leisure character, receiving an increasing number
of visitors. It was divided into three parts: the northern section named Prado de Recoletos, the
central part called Prado Viejo or de San Jerónimo and the southern section or Prado de Atocha,
now the eastern limit of the old station, totalling some 2 km.
In the corner of calle Atocha, a hospital was built in 1603 under the initiative of King Phillip II,
with the purpose of unifying many private and underfunded assistance foundations. In the 18th
century, the new enlightened mentality of King Charles III government fostered the ambitious
project of a modern building, following the example of the Albergo dei Poveri, sponsored by
the same king during his reign in Naples. The project by royal architects José de Hermosilla and
Francesco Sabatini occupied an area substantially more extended than the previous building.
By the death of King Charles in 1788 the works remained unfinished. Only the west courtyard
and the north wing were built and operating. In 1832 the building was complemented by the
Royal College of Surgery in a neighbouring plot.

Figure 5: General Hospital section Source: www.museoreinasofia.es

102 360.revista de alta velocidad