This 2021 is fulfilled 300 years from birth from one of the most important architects and engineers in the history of Madrid, Francisco Sabatini, which not only gives its name to the gardens of the Royal Palace, but is also author of such emblematic works as the Puerta de Alcalá, the Gate of the Royal Botanical Garden, the Customs House and the Godoy Palace, among others.
To pay tribute to him, the Madrid City Council has created the cultural program Sabatin yeari, that gathers free activities for all audiences to deepen the knowledge of his figure and the architectural work that transformed Madrid into the capital of the Spanish Enlightenment. The schedule, as well as information about the life and work of Sabatini and reservations for activities can be found on the web Sabatini 2021.
Sabatini in the Garden
The Royal Botanical Garden will offer dramatized itineraries in June and the first weekend of July, with a work written expressly for the tricentennial, which reproduces a fictitious meeting between Sabatini’s daughter and a former assistant at the Royal Botanical Garden, which serves as an excuse to go through the figure of the great Sicilian engineer and architect, as well as the deep mark he left on the city. The performances will be on Saturday afternoons for the general public and on Sunday mornings for the family audience.
Concert cycle
‘The compass of Sabatini’ is the title of the cycle of about 20 concerts to be held in some of the emblematic buildings of the architect in Madrid from September as the current Reina Sofía National Art Center Museum, Royal Palace, Royal Botanical Garden and Royal Basilica of San Francisco El Grande. The concerts will bring the Spanish repertoire of the 18th century closer to Madrid and visitors, highlighting the works of composers who, like the architect, were at the service of the Spanish court such as Luigi Boccherini, Gaetano Brunetti, Sebastián Durón, José de Torres or Domenico Scarlatti, among many others.
Mini Sabatini
Playful concerts, interactive and dramatized itineraries and educational workshops will allow children and young people, accompanied by their families, to enjoy Madrid’s cultural heritage with all five senses.
Guided visits
From the month of March they form part of the Paseo Madrid program a selection of guided tours through the spaces linked to the figure and work of Sabatini, such as ‘Sabatini in Madrid’, ‘Sabatini in the court of Carlos III’ and ‘Sabatini and the Illustrated Madrid’. Although there is a waiting list for the June and July visits, the next call for places will be on September 20, for the tours that will take place from October to December. Reservations can be made through the Heritage website.
Lecture series
Every Thursday, from October 21 to December 9, the Sabatini Year program will offer the possibility of getting closer to the figure and work of the architect, from his training in Italy and his work in Naples to the reasons for his arrival in Madrid and his role as architect of the Spanish court, through a series of conferences that will take place in the Sala Jorge García Berlanga of CentroCentro.
The Sabatini Year will end with a great exhibition that will house the Fernán Gómez Theater Cultural Center of the Villa from November to January and which will approach Madrid from a triple perspective: the city that Sabatini found, the one he imagined and the one he finally bequeathed. All this through a selection of historical pieces, including the best plans and drawings by the architect from the main national and international public and private collections. Likewise, Madrid will be rebuilt with a new graphic approach that will allow visitors to enjoy the architectural heritage and urban reconstructions with the help of new technologies.
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