The relocated ruins of the 12th-century church of San Pelayo y San Isidoro

In the heart of Madrid's Buen Retiro Park rests the 12th-century church of San Pelayo y San Isidoro, a relic moved from its original home outside the southern city walls of Ávila, in front of the Gate of Malaventura. A document from 1250 declares that the church was exempt from taxation, and a consecration text engraved on a tombstone dated to 1270 suggests that the dedication changed from Saint Pelagius to Saint Isidore.

In 1877, the church was demolished, and its remnants were sold to private individuals. An engineer and businessman named Emiliano Rotondo Nicolau purchased the remaining ashlars and architectural elements, later selling the ruins to the Real Academia de la Historia in 1893. The remains were eventually relocated to Buen Retiro Park under the supervision and design of the architect Ricardo Velázquez Bosco.

Today, the site has been restored by the City Council of Madrid, reclaiming scattered stones, capitals, and shafts to revive its historical significance. The structure, originally built with limestone ashlars and a unique nave with a wood cover, stands as a preserved example of Romanesque architecture from the mid-12th century.

Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons