Madrid - Municipal Museum

(Local Name: Hospicio de San Fernando) The Hospicio de San Fernando, which now houses the Municipal Museum and Library, stands opposite the rather ungainly building, dating from the second half of the 19th century, which formerly housed the Tribunal de Cuentas del Reino (Court of Accounts). The facade of the hospice, designed by Pedro de Ribera (1683- 1742), is one of the finest examples of Baroque architecture in Madrid.

The Municipal Museum contains a large and varied collection of material on the history of the city, from Roman pottery and medieval manuscripts to tapestries, porcelain, prints depicting everyday life in Madrid and numbers of pictures, including Goya's celebrated "Dos de Mayo" ("Second of May").

Of particular interest are the famous town plan (1656) by Pedro Texeira, the oldest plan of Madrid, and a model of the city (1830) by León Gil del Palacio.