San Antonio de la Florida chapel reopens with Goya's frescoes restored

The reopening returns a very special place to the city: a small church connected to the urban walk beside the Manzanares, but containing one of Madrid's most important pictorial treasures. Beneath its dome, Goya left a work that makes a visit very different from entering any ordinary church.

The rehabilitation has improved the preservation of the frescoes and adapted the building to current needs. Sensors have been installed to monitor humidity, temperature and vibrations in real time, three key factors in protecting particularly delicate paintings.

The new LED lighting also changes the experience. It makes it possible to appreciate the colours and details of the paintings better, while reducing energy consumption. The aim is for visitors to see the work better without putting its preservation at risk.

The building also incorporates improved thermal insulation in the dome and façades, renewed joinery with double glazing and a more efficient climate-control system in auxiliary areas. These changes are barely visible from outside, but are important for keeping the interior environment stable.

Accessibility has also been taken into account. The removal of architectural barriers and the renewal of paving in secondary areas make the visit more comfortable and straightforward for more people.

San Antonio de la Florida is not only an artistic monument. It forms part of the memory of the Moncloa-Aravaca district, walks beside Príncipe Pío and a popular tradition that brings Madrilenians together around the hermitage every year.

The reopening means recovering a calm, free cultural outing closely tied to the city's identity. You do not need to enter a great museum to encounter Goya: sometimes it is enough to go to a discreet hermitage by the river and look up.