Acueducto de La Partida

Madrid may have its famous fountains and grand boulevards, but hidden in the Casa de Campo is a rather more unexpected piece of engineering: a small 18th-century aqueduct. Built in 1778, the Acueducto de La Partida carried water from the park’s lake to the Huerta de la Partida, helping to irrigate the royal gardens and orchards. Its designer was Francisco Sabatini, the royal architect responsible for some of Madrid’s most monumental landmarks.

Sabatini’s connection with the Casa de Campo does not end here. He was also involved with several of its bridges, including the Puente de la Culebra, although his exact role in their construction remains a matter of historical debate. It is a charming reminder that the man associated with the Puerta de Alcalá and the Palacio Real also turned his attention to the rather less glamorous business of getting water across a stream.

Perhaps the most surprising thing is how little known this aqueduct is—even among Madrileños. The Casa de Campo contains the remains some otheraqueducts, built at different times to carry its intricate network of irrigation channels across streams and valleys. So while visitors stroll, cycle, jog, and picnic through one of Europe’s largest urban parks, they may be walking through a landscape quietly crisscrossed by forgotten waterways.

The Acueducto de La Partida is the oldest surviving example, restored in 2016 and now standing rather proudly beside the paths near the lake. It may lack the monumental scale of Segovia’s famous aqueduct, but Madrid has never been particularly short of surprises—and this one comes with the added bonus of being designed by Sabatini.