Garden of the Prince of Anglona

The Garden of the Prince of Anglona is a small, tucked-away garden in the heart of Madrid's La Latina neighborhood, right beside Plaza de la Paja, within the historic district known as Madrid de los Austrias. It is one of the few remaining places in the Spanish capital where the atmosphere of an 18th-century noble garden has survived intact – quiet, compact, and still largely overlooked even by many Madrileños.

Where does the name come from?

The garden takes its name from Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Alfonso-Pimentel, Prince of Anglona and Marquis of Jabalquinto, who lived in the adjoining palace during the 19th century. His title gave the entire complex – both the palace and the garden attached to it – the name it still carries today.

How the garden came to be

The palace next to the garden was originally built around 1530 as the residence of Francisco de Vargas, an advisor to the Catholic Monarchs and later to Charles I. The building's current appearance, however, dates from a renovation carried out in 1802. The garden itself came somewhat later: it was laid out in 1761 to a design by Nicolas Chalmandrier, who planned a small neoclassical recreational space alongside the palace residence.

The garden's present-day form, though, is the result of a much later intervention. In 1920, the Marquises of La Romana commissioned painter and garden designer Javier de Winthuysen to redesign the space. It is his work that gives the garden its current character – a neoclassical composition that also draws on the tradition of Andalusian gardens, treating vegetation and water as distinct, complementary elements within the overall design.

A hanging garden above Madrid

One of the site's most distinctive features is its location: the garden sits on an artificial embankment built to overcome the steep drop in elevation between Calle Segovia and Calle Príncipe de Anglona. This gives it the character of a small hanging garden, with views stretching toward the Manzanares river valley below.

The palace and garden in the 20th century

Between 1940 and 1978, the palace was leased to Madrid's city council and housed the city's statistics and census department. The entire complex, including the garden, passed into municipal ownership in 1978. The public, however, had to wait until 2002 to gain access, when the garden opened to visitors following restoration work carried out by Italian landscape architect Lucía Serredi.

Today the garden belongs to the Madrid City Council, which is responsible for its upkeep and conservation, and admission is free of charge.

Frequently asked questions

Where exactly is the garden located? On Plaza de la Paja, in the La Latina neighborhood, within the historic area of Madrid known as Madrid de los Austrias.

Is there an entrance fee? No, admission is free and the garden is open to both residents and visitors.

Why is it called the "Garden of the Prince of Anglona"? The name comes from the title of Pedro de Alcántara Téllez-Girón y Alfonso-Pimentel, Prince of Anglona, who lived in the adjoining palace during the 19th century.

Who designed the garden's current layout? Its present appearance is the work of Javier de Winthuysen, who redesigned it in 1920 on commission from the Marquises of La Romana.

What makes this garden different from other parks in Madrid? It is one of the few surviving 18th-century noble gardens in the city, and it has the unusual character of a hanging garden, built on an artificial embankment above Calle Segovia.