Plaza de Oriente & Philip IV Equestrian Monument

Why is it significant?

Finish your walking tour in the center of Plaza de Oriente, looking up at the dramatic bronze equestrian statue of King Philip the Fourth. Notice how the king's war horse is rearing up on its two hind legs in mid-gallop, its front hooves suspended in thin air!

Key Facts

Open the walk

Finish your walking tour in the center of Plaza de Oriente, looking up at the dramatic bronze equestrian statue of King Philip the Fourth. Notice how the king's war horse is rearing up on its two hind legs in mid-gallop, its front hooves suspended in thin air! Unveiled in sixteen forty, this statue was the very first monumental bronze sculpture in world history ever cast in a rearing pose without supporting props beneath the horse's belly.

How did the sculptor keep a multi-ton bronze horse from toppling over? Italian master Pietro Tacca consulted none other than astronomer and physicist Galileo Galilei! Galileo calculated that by casting the rear legs and tail out of solid bronze while casting the horse's head and chest completely hollow, the center of gravity would shift safely over the rear hooves.

The horse's proud head was sculpted using sketches sent directly from Madrid by royal painter Diego Velázquez. Surrounding the gardens stand twenty limestone statues of medieval Spanish kings, originally carved to adorn the roof of the Royal Palace before Queen Isabella the Second had them moved down to prevent structural collapse.

Rest on a marble bench as the fountain waters sparkle in the evening sun. You have uncovered the regal majesty and hidden tales that shaped Madrid.