Golden Age theatre declared cultural heritage: three exhibitions and our parish’s place in the story
The Region of Madrid has declared Golden Age theatre an item of Intangible Cultural Heritage. Three exhibitions on the Madrid of that age are on at the same time, and one of them features San Sebastián, whose registers record Cervantes, Lope de Vega and Ruiz de Alarcón.
Published on 28 October 2026
Item of Intangible Cultural Heritage · Biblioteca Regional, Fernán Gómez and Real Academia de San Fernando
The Region of Madrid has declared Golden Age theatre an item of Intangible Cultural Heritage (Bien de Interés Cultural), by Decree 78/2026 of 9 September, published in the regional gazette (BOCM) on 16 September. The declaration recognises that Madrid, capital of the kingdom from 1561, was the heart of Baroque theatre: its playhouses, such as the Corral del Príncipe, today’s Teatro Español, staged plays that are still performed.
Three exhibitions on Golden Age Madrid
Alongside the declaration, Madrid is hosting three exhibitions on the Golden Age, its theatre and its city over these months:
- “Madrid en el teatro español del Siglo de Oro”, at the Biblioteca Regional de Madrid (El Águila complex, Calle de Ramírez de Prado 3), until 10 January 2027. Free entry.
- “Teatro de grandeza. Arte, arquitectura y ciudad en el Madrid barroco”, at the Teatro Fernán Gómez. Centro Cultural de la Villa (Plaza de Colón 4), until 17 January 2027. Tickets €6 (€3 concessions); free on Tuesdays.
- “Madrid en el Siglo de Oro. Crisol de destinos y desembarco de genios”, at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (Calle de Alcalá 13), until 2 December. Free entry.
The one at the Biblioteca Regional, curated by Germán Vega García-Luengos and Javier J. González Martínez of the University of Valladolid, brings together oil paintings, manuscripts, costumes, models of playhouses and documents from the Biblioteca Nacional, the Archivo de la Villa and the Archivo Histórico de Protocolos, among others. It is open Monday to Saturday from 10:00 to 20:00, and Sundays and public holidays from 10:00 to 14:00, with guided tours by prior booking.
San Sebastián, the parish of the poets
A few days ago we visited the exhibition at the Biblioteca Regional, and we were moved to find our parish in it: the San Sebastián archive is among those that lent images for the catalogue. It is no coincidence: San Sebastián stands in the heart of the Barrio de las Letras, a short walk from where the playhouses and the homes of the great writers of the age once stood. Many of them appear in the registers of our archive, the only part of the church that survived its destruction in 1936.
- 1579Baptism of Tirso de Molina, author of “El burlador de Sevilla”.
- 1602Wedding of Juan de la Cuesta, the printer who three years later would publish the first part of “Don Quixote”.
- 1616Death of Miguel de Cervantes.
- 1635Death of Lope de Vega, creator of the Comedia Nueva.
- 1639Death of Juan Ruiz de Alarcón, author of “La verdad sospechosa”.
- 1644Death of Luis Vélez de Guevara, author of “El diablo Cojuelo”.
And not only the writers: in 1631, at the height of the Golden Age, the actors of the neighbourhood founded the Congregation of Our Lady of the Novena in San Sebastián, and the patroness of Spanish actors still has her chapel here.
The theatrical tradition carried on in the parish: Ramón de la Cruz, Leandro Fernández de Moratín and Jacinto Benavente were baptised here. We encourage you to visit the exhibitions and, on the way, to stop by San Sebastián, where some of those who made our theatre great prayed, married and lie at rest.
Golden Age theatre on the Region of Madrid’s website (in Spanish)
The exhibition at the Biblioteca Regional (in Spanish)
The exhibition at the Teatro Fernán Gómez (in Spanish)
The exhibition at the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (in Spanish)
