The largest dome in Spain has been reopened

In Madrid, Spain’s largest dome has reopened after two months of restoration. It crowns the Royal Basilica of Saint Francis the Great.

Rising 70 metres high and measuring 33 metres in diameter, the dome is among the largest in Europe. Only the domes of St Peter’s Basilica and the Pantheon in Rome, as well as Florence’s Santa Maria del Fiore, are larger. The Madrid basilica, declared a National Monument in 1980, stands in the historic city centre, next to the La Latina neighbourhood.

As part of the restoration, the dome’s frescoes and decorative elements were carefully cleaned and renewed. Special attention was paid to preserving original 18th-century techniques: the paintings were made using traditional materials, including egg white, which gives the surface its distinctive texture and sheen.

Inside the basilica, visitors can also see works by Francisco de Goya, Zurbarán, Casto Plasencia, Martínez Cubells and other Spanish painters of the 18th and 19th centuries. Thanks to a lighter tourist flow compared with Madrid’s main landmarks, the basilica remains one of the city’s most atmospheric and underrated cultural sites.

The basilica is located at Calle de San Buenaventura, 1. It is open Monday to Saturday from 8:00 to 10:00. On Sundays, it is open in the morning and again in the afternoon until 20:00. The basilica museum, which complements the visit, can be accessed Tuesday to Saturday from 10:30 to 14:30 and from 16:00 to 18:30. Entry to the basilica is free on Thursdays.