Basilica of Nuestra Señora de Atocha

The Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha or Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Atocha is a large church in central Madrid on Avenida de la Ciudad de Barcelona, 1. It is run by the Dominican order.^[1]

Royal Basilica of Our Lady of Atocha
Real Basílica de Nuestra Señora de Atocha
Main façade of the basilica
Religion
Affiliation	Roman Catholic Church
Province	Archdiocese of Madrid
Rite	Roman
Ecclesiastical or organizational status	Active
Patron	Virgin of Atocha
Year consecrated	1150
Status	Basilica
Location
Location	Madrid, Spain
Location of the Cathedral in Madrid
Geographic coordinates	40°24′19.17″N 3°40′59.57″W
Architecture
Type	Church
Style	Herrerian
Groundbreaking	1150
Completed	1951
Website
Website of the Basilica

Original project by Fernando Arbós y Tremanti for the basilica, belltower, and pantheon.

Our Lady of Atocha with rich dresses.

History

It is one of the six basilica churches in Madrid, alongside the Our Father Jesús de Medinaceli, San Francisco el Grande, St. Michael's Basilica, Madrid, Basílica Hispanoamericana de Nuestra Señora de la Merced, and Church of La Milagrosa.

The buildings on the site have a long history. The original name refers to a lost icon from a chapel which was found among some high grasses -referred to as tocha- during the time of the Reconquista. The site was given to the Dominican order in 1523 by concession of Pope Adrian VI. The old church was in disrepair and rebuilt in the 1890s in a Neo-Byzantine style designed by Fernando Arbós y Tremanti.

The church was destroyed on 20 July 1936 during the Spanish Civil War. Its reconstruction was completed in 1951.

Adjacent to the church is the Pantheon of Illustrious Men or Panteón de Hombres Ilustres of Madrid. It holds the remains of only a former president of the council of ministers, José Canalejas, however it also contains a number of interesting monuments from and just after the turn of the 19th century.

See also

• Catholic Church in Spain
• List of oldest church buildings