Part of the city’s aesthetic heritage One of the first things that caught my eye about Madrid was its beautiful wooden doors. Studded with ornate brass or iron fittings, the varnished panels engraved with florid designs, often with the words “asegurada de incendios” mounted on a plaque above, these historic doors form an important part […]
Spain’s first pornos As with the internet, it didn’t take long for pioneers to see the pornographic possibilities of film with early pornos appearing pretty quickly after the Lumiere brothers first displayed their invention in Paris in 1895. However, unlike the internet, this was no democratic tool, the first silent pornos were mainly made to
What is the Habsburg jaw? The Habsburg jaw is a severe facial deformity characterized by a protruding lower jaw (mandibular prognathism) and receding upper jaw (maxillary deficiency) that plagued Europe’s most powerful royal dynasty for generations. This distinctive feature, visible in portraits spanning two centuries, resulted from inbreeding practices designed to keep power within the
The Habsburg Jaw Explained: The Price of 200 Years of Royal Inbreeding Read More »
Photo from Guide to Madrid’s Literary District by John Dapolito Last year my book A Guide to Madrid’s Literary District was published by Secret Kingdoms and this year, I’ve got not one but four new titles out! Okay, admittedly three of these are Lonely Planet guides (the big Madrid guide, the pocket guide and the
Artists Minty Donald and Nick Millar of Erratic Drift answer the question, “What is Madrid made of?” in this special guest post written ahead of their exhibition opening. A close look at the city When we visit a city as tourists, we’re often urged to stand back and look up to appreciate the architecture, or
I’m delighted to announce that A Guide to Madrid’s Literary District will be officially launched in Secret Kindoms bookshop on April 20, 2024! Illustrated by Nathan Brenville and published by Secret Kingdoms, the book is a glossy bilingual guide to Barrio de las Letras. In honour of Cervantes, the launch of A Guide to Madrid’s
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Why a bear and strawberry tree? Visitors seeking an Instagrammable picture of themselves in Madrid often head to the statue of the bear and strawberry tree in Sol. It’s an iconic symbol that appears all over the city from manhole covers to public bins, to the logo of the much-maligned Atlético de Madrid – Madrid’s
The beautiful tiled street signs in Madrid are one of the city’s most distinctive features and reproductions of them are sold by the bucket-load to tourists looking to take some souvenir of their stay back with them. But did you know that these iconic tiles only date as far back as the 1990s? What might
Showers of sweets On the evening of Jan 5, a shower of sweets rains down on the city as the Three Kings Parade snakes a noisy glitter-strewn path through central Madrid. The Cabalgata de Reyes is a massive affair complete with beautifully decorated floats and huge speakers blaring out seasonal tunes that climaxes at Cibeles
Ayuso squares off against Ateneo Ateneo de Madrid, one of the city’s most important cultural institutions, has just had its 100,000 euros per annum local government funding abruptly shut off. The only local organization hit by a total funding cut, speculation that the move is politically motivated is rife. The heart of the problem seems
