El Capricho is a park in Madrid. The name ''capricho'' means "folly" in Spanish. It was created by

María Josefa Pimentel, Duchess of Osuna Doña María Josefa Alonso-Pimentel y Téllez-Girón ''Iure uxoris, iure uxoris'' Duchess of Osuna, ''suo jure'' 12th Duchess of Benavente (26 November 1752 – 5 October 1834), was a Spanish Salonnière, famous as a patron of artists, writers ...

(1752-1834) on her estate at

Alameda de Osuna Alameda de Osuna is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the ...

, which was then outside the city of Madrid. It is landscaped in eighteenth-century style with formal and naturalistic features. It is recognised as one of the most beautiful parks in the city. The landscape design shows some

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ...

influence. Characteristically of continental gardens in the English style, there are a number of "eye-catchers" such as a hermit's house and a temple to Bacchus. Other features include a lake and a

maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

Structures

There are various buildings from the time of the Duchess, the largest being the ducal ''palacio''. The Duchess continued to make improvements to the gardens until the end of her life, one of the last features being an iron bridge, which was constructed in 1830. This

footbridge A footbridge (also a pedestrian bridge, pedestrian overpass, or pedestrian overcrossing) is a bridge designed solely for pedestrians.''Oxford English Dictionary'' While the primary meaning for a bridge is a structure which links "two points at ...

is claimed to be the first iron bridge in Spain. There is a bunker from the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

period. It is known as ''posición Jaca''.

Conservation

The park has been designated a ''

jardín histórico A jardín histórico is a Spanish historic garden. In Spain ''Jardín histórico'' is a heritage listing which protects historic gardens. (The English equivalent would be the English Heritage 'Register of Historic Parks and Gardens of special histo ...

''.

Access

The park is within the Madrid suburbs and is accessible by bus and metro (line 5). The park is normally open to the public at weekends. In 2016 it was proposed to open the palace as a museum.

References

External links

{{Commons category, Parque de El Capricho, El Capricho Mazes in Spain Parks in Madrid Parks in the Community of Madrid Barajas (Madrid) Bunkers in Spain Tourist attractions in Madrid