Puerta de Alcalá

The Puerta de Alcalá is one of the most significant monuments in Madrid, along with the nearby Cibeles Fountain. It was commissioned by King Carlos III and designed by the architect Francesco Sabatini. It is located in Plaza de la Independencia, at the intersection of Alcalá, Alfonso XII, Serrano, and Salustiano Olózaga streets, and next to the Puerta de España, the main entrance to the Retiro gardens. Like the street it is on, the Puerta is named because it was on the road leading to the city of Alcalá de Henares.

It was inaugurated in 1778, not as a monument, but as an actual gate, as on both sides of it there was still the fence that marked the city's eastern boundary, which remained until 1869, the year the plaza was remodeled.

The Puerta, built of granite, has five openings: three with semicircular arches, with keystones shaped like lion heads, and two lateral ones with lintelled arches, with pairs of cornucopias above them carved by Roberto Michel. These openings originally had gates that were closed every day at dusk.

The exterior facade, the one facing east, features ten attached granite columns. On the interior facade, the one facing the city center, the six outer columns are replaced by pilasters, and only two pairs next to the central arch remain as columns. All of them rest on a base. The capitals are of the Ionic order and support a cornice. Above the central opening, on the attics of both facades, there is an inscription in Latin with the monument's main motto. Above the exterior inscription is a coat of arms held by Fame and Genius. On both sides, there are four sculptures of children. On the interior facade, above the side arches, are the four cardinal virtues: Prudence, Justice, Temperance, and Fortitude. All these ornamental motifs were carved in Colmenar limestone, like the cornucopias, by Francisco Gutiérrez Arribas, and their more baroque style contrasts with the neoclassical style of the gate.