On the flip side...

Real History

As much as there is the fun and exciting part of the history, a friend reminded me of another aspect of our history in Madrid.

On our way to the Royal Palace we walked through Plaza Mayor. It's big. Closed in on all four sides by two and three story buildings, it's large enough to play a game of football. Or two. Or to hold public ceremonies. Or to burn Jews.

In the 1500's Plaza Mayor, known then as Plaza del Arrabal, was among the places that the church used for public trials for "crimes" of a religious nature. Among the paintings we saw later that day at the Museo del Prado was Francisco Ricci's painting of an auto de fe.

Yes, it's not all castles and banners in the breeze. And I know I can't ignore that side of history. Luckily, it was not thrown in our faces this trip. I'm still thinking...

Thanks for the reminder.

posted by YS @ 11:09 AM