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At first mention, the San Isidro Museum (Museo de San Isidro) sounds like a museum about the life of San Isidro Labrador, the patron saint of Madrid, but the name is really quite misleading. In reality, the majority of the museum contains excellent exhibits on the origins and early history of Madrid.
Visiting
The San Isidro Museum is located next to the Church of San Andrés (Iglesia de San Andrés) in La Latina. It’s open daily except Mondays and admission is free.
Early History
The first exhibits of the museum focus on prehistoric times and move onto Roman times. Among some of the artifacts are mammoth tusks and other bones, a Roman mosaic unearthed at a villa, and other interesting items from Roman times.
Muslim and Castillian Madrid
Muslim Madrid, which was called Mayrit, covered over 350 years from 711 to 1085. There are several pieces of pottery and other items as well as a model of a typical home from this period.
One of the most interesting pieces on display is a scale model of Madrid in 1656, based on Pedro Teixeira Albernaz’s original map.
Moving through history into the Castillian period, I admired the cenotaphs of Francisco Ramírez and Beatriz Galindo (1465-1534), dating back to around 1530. Ramírez was an artillery officer and secretary to Fernando II de Aragón. He died during a Moorish uprising in Lanjarón in 1501. Galindo was his second wife. She was a writer and also the teacher of Queen Isabella I. She was famous for her command of the Latin language, earning the nickname “La Latina”. The neighborhood in which she lived is named after her.
San Isidro Labrador
The rest of the museum focuses on San Isidro Labrador and his wife, Santa María de la Cabeza. First is a well used by the saint where miracles were said to be performed.
Next is the chapel built in the early 17th century on the actual spot where the two saints lived (and where San Isidro died in 1130), in a small two room house owned by their master, Iván de Vargas. The beautiful frescoes were painted between 1783 and 1789 by Zacarías González Velázquez.
Finally, I took a quick walk through the patio, which contains a fountain in the center and some ornaments carved from stone.
Conclusion
Overall, I really enjoyed my visit to the museum. I learned a lot about the early history of Madrid and was impressed by many of the artifacts on display. The frescoes in the chapel are also spectacular.
