The Cibeles Fountain at Sunset, Madrid: The Goddess Before the City Hall

Sunset in the centre of Madrid. Streaks of pink and orange cloud drift across a fading sky, the lights have come on across the facade of the Palacio de Cibeles, and below it the fountain of the goddess Cybele glows in its basin at the heart of the roundabout. Flags stir along the front of the building and the clock tower rises above everything. It is the square Madrid uses to celebrate, photographed in a quiet moment between day and night.

Quick Facts
Photographer: Sapiens Verbum
Subject: The Cibeles Fountain and the Palacio de Cibeles at sunset
Location: Plaza de Cibeles, Madrid, Spain
Medium: Photograph – Colour
Series: Madrid

The Cibeles Fountain and the Palacio de Cibeles, Madrid. Photograph by Sapiens Verbum.

The fountain was designed by the architect Ventura Rodríguez in the reign of Charles III. The goddess Cybele, carved by Francisco Gutiérrez, rides a chariot pulled by two lions sculpted by Roberto Michel, all in white marble. The monument was moved to its present position and orientation in 1895, and it has since become the place where Real Madrid's players and supporters gather to celebrate their titles.

Behind it stands the Palacio de Cibeles, designed by Antonio Palacios and Joaquín Otamendi and opened in 1919 as the headquarters of Spain's post and telegraph service. For most of the twentieth century Madrileños knew it simply as the central post office. Since 2007 it has housed Madrid City Hall, together with the CentroCentro cultural space, and its towers and pinnacles have made it one of the most recognisable buildings in the city.

The photograph is taken from street level, facing the palace, so the fountain sits low in the frame and the building towers over it. The moment does the rest: the warm lights on the stone echo the colours of the sunset clouds, the lit basin draws a bright line across the middle of the picture, and the wet road in the foreground mirrors the glow of the street lamps.

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Part of the Madrid series.