Centro de Arte Reina Sofía

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Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Calle de Santa Isabel
Madrid, September 2022

“The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Queen Sofía National Museum Art Centre; MNCARS) is Spain's national museum of 20th-century art. The museum was officially inaugurated on September 10, 1992, and is named for Queen Sofía. It is located in Madrid, near the Atocha train and metro stations, at the southern end of the so-called Golden Triangle of Art (located along the Paseo del Prado and also comprising the Museo del Prado and the Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza). The museum is mainly dedicated to Spanish art. Highlights of the museum include excellent collections of Spain's two greatest 20th-century masters, Pablo Picasso and Salvador Dalí. The most famous masterpiece in the museum is Picasso's 1937 painting Guernica. Along with its extensive collection, the museum offers a mixture of national and international temporary exhibitions in its many galleries, making it one of the world's largest museums for modern and contemporary art. In 2021, due to the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, it attracted 1,643,108 visitors, up 32 percent from 2020, but well below 2019 attendance. In 2021 It ranked eighth on the list of most-visited art museums in the world.” (Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, Wikipedia)

Zoco Municipal

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Zoco Municipal - Mercado de la Artesanía
Calle Judíos
Córdoba, September 2022

“El Zoco or The Souk is the Municipal Souk of Córdoba, in Spain. It is also known as Mercado de la Artesanía. It is located within the historic center of Cordoba in the Jewish Quarter, very close to the Mosque and the Synagogue. It was the first craft market that was created in Spain, and local artisans offer you for your enjoyment leather, ceramic and silver goods.” (El Zoco, Nomad's Travel Guide)

Torre Schindler

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Torre Schindler by Guillermo Vázquez Consuegra, 1992
Pabellón de la Navegación
Camino de los Descubrimientos
Isla de la Cartuja
Seville, September 2022

“Originally built as an observation tower for the 1992 Expo, the 50m-high Torre Schindler is now part of the Pabellón de la Navegación museum. Elevators take you to the top, from where you can admire sweeping views of the city.” (Torre Mirador, Lonely Planet)

Fuente del Turia

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Fuente del Turia by Manuel Silvestre Montesinos, 1976
Plaza de la Virgen
Valencia, September 2022

“The Turia Fountain is an elaborate oval fountain about 60' across by 26' wide. It was created by sculptor Silvestre Edeta and dedicated in 1976. A bronze statue of the Roman god Neptune sits on a platform is in the center with a cascade of water flowing down to a lower level from all sides. The lower level contains bronze sculptures of eight naked women. The fountain is an allegorical representation of Valencia’s Turia River. The eight statues of women have water pouring from jars representing the irrigation channels of the river.” (Turia Fountain, Waymarking)

Bancos

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Bancos (Benches)
Plaza de Zocodover
Toledo, September 2022

“The second expansion was done and dates from the beginning of the 17th century. This consisted in the demolition of a series of houses of little value that seems to be difficult the total vision of Zocodover from its top to the bottom and vice versa. Never more arches were realized and probably this fact is due to that it was not wanted to remove meters to the square. Nowadays Zocodover is one of the places of the city where many events and celebrations are held, as well as serving as a popular meeting point and enjoyment of the Toledo and above all a must for the thousands of tourists who mark the streets of the historical quarter throughout the year.” (Plaza de Zocodover, Wikipedia)

Fuente de Cibeles

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Fuente de Cibeles (Fountain of Cybele) by Ventura Rodríguez, 1782
Plaza de Cibeles
Madrid, September 2022

“The Fountain of Cybele is a neoclassical fountain in Madrid, Spain. It lies on the centre of the Plaza de Cibeles. The sculptural group in its centre represents Cybele, a Phrygian earth and fertility deity. It has become one of the icons of the city. Designed and commissioned by Ventura Rodríguez in 1780, the sculptural group—made of white marble from Montesclaros—is a work by Francisco Gutiérrez (goddess) and Roberto Michel (the lions). Crowned by a mural crown, the goddess rides a chariot pulled by two lions, representing Atalanta and Hippomenes. It was moved to its current location and orientation in 1895. It has a maximum water capacity of 278 m3. The fountain is the site where Real Madrid's supporters and players gather to celebrate the team's trophies as well as partakers of the successes of the Spain national football team. The goddess lost a hand in 1994, following a celebration of a victory of the Spanish national team. The goddess lost again one of her hands on 21 September 2002. The Fountain of Cybele has a replica, the namesake Fuente de Cibeles, located in Mexico City and inaugurated in 1980.” (Fountain of Cybele, Wikipedia)

Ave del paraíso

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Ave del paraíso (Bird of paradise)
Paseo de la Victoria, 35
Córdoba, September 2022

“Strelitzia is a genus of five species of perennial plants, native to South Africa. It belongs to the plant family Strelitziaceae. The genus is named after Queen Charlotte of the United Kingdom, who was born a princess of the house of Mecklenburg-Strelitz. A common name of the genus is bird of paradise flower/plant, because of a resemblance of its flowers to birds-of-paradise. In South Africa, it is commonly known as a crane flower and is featured on the reverse of the 50-cent coin. It is the floral emblem of the City of Los Angeles; two of the species, S. nicolai and S. reginae, are frequently grown as houseplants.” (Strelitzia, Wikipedia)