As soon as you leave the Alcalá de Henares train station and walk toward the historic center, a richly decorated Neo‑Mudéjar brick building immediately stands out, reminiscent of Comillas Palace by Gaudí. This is Laredo Palace, created by Manuel José Laredo (1842–1896), who was not only the city’s mayor but also a painter, decorator, and restorer. Completed in 1886, the palace blends Neo‑Mudéjar, Neo‑Gothic, and Modernist elements. Although the official architect was Juan José de Urquijo, Laredo personally directed the entire project, inspired by William Morris’s Arts and Crafts movement. He oversaw everything from the architectural plans to the interior decoration. The exterior features brick façades with geometric patterns, galleries with Moorish latticework, and, most notably, a clock‑tower minaret topped with a dome covered in green and white glazed ceramic scales. Inside, Laredo painted Modernist decorative motifs and others inspired by Pompeian frescoes. One highlight is the “Hall of Kings,” which contains portraits of monarchs and a ceiling depicting the medieval understanding of the cosmos. Neo‑Mudéjar and Moorish elements dominate the interior, including a small Arab room adorned with plasterwork and tiles inspired by the Alhambra. To reinforce this aesthetic, Laredo incorporated archaeological pieces from other buildings: the vault and columns from Santorcaz Castle, coffered ceilings from the Palace of the Marquises of Tendilla, and tiles from the Palace of Peter I, among others. Today, the palace houses a small museum where visitors can see, among other exhibits, a complete copy of the Complutensian Polyglot Bible, the first of its kind in the world.
Curated from Atlas Obscura. Classified as Culture & Education by AI, which sometimes makes mistakes.
After retiring from his position as dean of the Faculty of Law at Chulalongkorn University, Prof Nantawat Boramanand has taken on a new mission -- to fund cochlear implant surgeries for children with hearing loss through the Foundation for the Deaf under the Royal Patronage of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, The Queen Mother.
Finely chop cabbage, cook with noodles – and you get a satisfying, comforting dish. A recipe from Grandma's kitchen.
When Yulia Plotkin was a teenager, she experienced the dark side of the advertising world: sexual assaults, exploitation, bulimia. Today she uses her experience to help teenagers suffering from anxiety and low body image. She also has a new baby, a business selling acai in Tel Aviv, which somewhat distracts her from the disappointments of the glittering world: "Advertising is a nightmare, it creates anxiety and depression and people work terribly hard for others."
