Royal Basilica of Atocha

Devotion to the Virgin of Atocha, who was venerated in medieval times in a chapel located in the vicinity of the current basilica, was very significant among Spanish monarchs from the reign of Charles V onwards. It was this king who granted permission in 1523 for the chapel of Our Lady of Atocha, then owned by the abbey of Saint Leocadia in Toledo, to be transferred to the Order of Preachers, who began building the new Dominican friary soon afterwards.

The cult of the image – and the building itself – grew throughout the subsequent reigns thanks to the support of the monarchs, the patronage of various prominent members of the clergy and nobility, and the Dominican friars' efforts to encourage this devotion. When Madrid was established as the capital of Spain, Philip II designated the Virgin of Atocha ‘patron saint of the city and of all the Kingdoms’ and used to visit the sanctuary before and after each battle. In 1602 Philip III placed the church and the monastery under royal patronage, and Philip IV proclaimed her the patron saint and protector of the Royal Family and the Spanish Monarchy, even bestowing on her the Order of the Golden Fleece. It has been customary to present all newborn heirs to the Crown to the Virgin of Atocha.

The design of the original church is attributed to Francisco de Mora, who was also responsible for the high altarpiece. After he died his nephew Juan Gómez de Mora took over the construction. Over time, artists such as Bartolomé Carducho, Pompeo Leoni, Sebastián Herrera Barnuevo, Francisco Herrera the Younger, Francisco Rizzi, Juan Carreño de Miranda, Luca Giordano, Luis Salvador Carmona, Juan Pascual de Mena and Isidro Velázquez, among others, worked on the building or its decoration.
During the French occupation the building was used as a barracks and many of the objects kept there went missing. In the late nineteenth century it served as an Army and Navy Invalids Barracks. Its progressive deterioration led to the planning of a new design, which was entrusted to the architect Fernando Arbós y Tremanti in the last decade of the century. However, of the complex he designed, only the bell tower and what was then called the Pantheon of Illustrious Men were actually built. At the request of the Dominican friars, between 1925 and 1926 the architect Emilio Antón Hernández built a new church and monastery, which were destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. The current church, by Diego Méndez, dates from the mid-twentieth century.

All that remains of the seventeenth-century building are the stone coats of arms of the Order of Saint Dominic and of the city of Madrid, which were displayed on the façade and are now located by the steps leading up to the basilica. The stone sculptures of the Virgin and Child and of Saint Dominic have also survived, but in very poor condition. However, besides the sculpture of the Virgin of Atocha, dated to the late thirteenth century, Patrimonio Nacional has numerous objects that were part of her cult and ornamentation, as well as gifts made to the image over the years. Particularly notable are the jewellery donated by Isabella II after escaping an assassination attempt unharmed and the dresses of queens María de las Mercedes and Maria Christina of Austria, from which various garments were crafted for the Virgin and the Christ Child. The jewellery is usually kept in the Royal Palace in Madrid and is only exhibited on special occasions.

Outside the basilica there is a symbolic representation of the tochas (a type of esparto grass) that used to dominate the surrounding vegetation, after which the area and, consequently, the sanctuary are named, as well as olive trees alluding to the extensive olive grove that belonged to the monastery and once bordered the gardens of the Buen Retiro Palace.