San Francisco El Grande Church
Plaza de San Francisco, s/n, 28005 Madrid, Comunidad de Madrid, Spain
Description:
The church of San Francisco el Grande, built in 1760 in neoclassical style, is on the site of a monastery founded in 1217 by St. Francis.
It was built by order of Carlos III and was designed by architect Francesco Cabezas, who created a huge dome crowned with a cross, whose diameter is 33 meters. The construction of the basilica in 1784 was completed by Francesco Sabatini.
After assigning Madrid the status of the capital of the Spanish Kingdom at the monastery, relics mined during the Crusades were transported to this place. Then in 1835 the church was handed over to the Foreign Ministry and later used as barracks. It was only in 1926 that the basilica was returned to the church.