Madrid - In 1788, Spanish master Francisco de Goya depicted
a popular celebration in honour of Madrid's patron saint in La
Pradera de San Isidro (The Meadow of Saint Isidro).
The painting, now at the Prado art museum, shows in the background
a view across the Manzanares river of a wide green slope topped by
the church of San Francisco el Grande and other white buildings.
The leafy area located between the church and Las Vistillas
gardens still forms part of the Spanish capital.
It is loved by residents who go there to relax and 'get some sun
on our way to having a few beers,' as commentator Ruth Toledano
wrote.
Now, however, the western area which some regard as the historic
heart of Madrid threatens to 'disappear under concrete,' as
protesters claim.
This time, however, the alleged environmental threat does not come
from the usual quarter of real estate speculators, but from Spain's
Catholic Church.
The Madrid archbishopric wants to use the site to erect a large
clerical complex which detractors have dubbed 'the mini-Vatican.'
The church says critics have misunderstood the project that will
allow for green spaces to be preserved in the area.
Madrid's conservative city council approved the plan in February
against the disapproval of leftist opposition parties.
The long-time dream project of Madrid archbishop Cardinal Antonio
Maria Rouco Varela will occupy more than 25,000 square metres.
The complex, the details of which are still unclear, is expected
to include a four-storey 'house of the church,' a three-storey
residence for priests, a religious library, centres for the elderly
and the homeless, and a parking lot of 200 places for clerics only.
'Rouco and (mayor Alberto Ruiz) Gallardon want to re-Catholicize
Spain and make the church's (presence) visible just anywhere,'
liberal theologician Juan Jose Tamayo complained.
Critics fear new complex might be built in a style similar to the
nearby 20th-century Almudena Cathedral, which many regard as
tasteless in comparison with the splendour of other Spanish
cathedrals.
Opponents of the project, who include architects and landscape
specialists, say it would bury 15,000 square metres of greenery,
including centuries-old gardens in the capital which is sorely in
need of such natural spaces.
They also regard it as an attack against the history and culture
of Madrid.
The area which has been immortalised by several well-known artists
is 'the only zone that has remained intact since the city was
founded,' Socialist Party representative David Lucas said.
The church, which already has numerous properties in Madrid,
should not be erecting large residences and parking lots in a city
suffering from lack of housing and parking space, Toledano
complained.
Thousands of demonstrators have marched against the 'mini-
Vatican,' which would make Madrid 'lose its magic' and 'become more
mediocre and gray,' according to a collective letter displayed on a
campaigners' website.
Campaigners against the plan have also lodged a judicial complaint
against it, and have even taken their case to the United Nations
Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the
European Commission.
The protesters have misunderstood the project, the architecture of
which will fit in with its surroundings and which would
'substantially improve the zone,' the Madrid archbishopric said in a
communique.
The city hall continues to side with the church, arguing that the
project will allow it to establish a school and a sports centre in
the area.
The only thing left for opponents of the 'mini-Vatican' was to
pray for a divine intervention, one commentator quipped.
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