This statue of San Isidro stands in the dahlia gardens, the Dalieda de San Francisco, next to the Real Basílica de San Francisco el Grande in Madrid. If you can drag your eyes away from the stunning sky, there is a panoramic view of Madrid beyond.
Sadly, both the dahlia gardens and the statue seem to have fallen prey to the economic crisis; the statue was covered in graffiti, the dahlias were long dead.
Very sad, especially when you can see from the signs that this was once a beautiful garden.
Travel with Intent 
I enjoyed your shares. Happy Blue Monday! It is sad that many things are neglected today. I hate seeing tagging or vandalism! I think if a person has an artistic side go hone your skill. Don’t destroy something people enjoy seeing and someone worked hard to create. Argh…..I really enjoyed this visit! Come visit soon.
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That is very sad about the state of the minds of those people who vandalized the statues.
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Seems in the worst of times, nature provides more beauty.
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Hi Debbie,
Yes, it is a sad. I don’t know what people are thinking when they choose to deface something so lovely. Thanks for sharing.
Happy Blue Monday!
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So sad! I also hope that the statue will be restored! The view is amazing!
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So sad to see the graffiti on that lovely statute. I hope the place can one day be restored to its former glory.
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I hope so too.
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Such a radiant blue sky, minimalising the graffiti on the statue but hughlighting its creative beauty. So sad about the garden. Surely a little watering would help.
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I think it’s past that stage now. Though I haven’t been since April last year so maybe someone has rescued it in the meantime.
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That first shot is stunning.
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The spring sky did me proud that day :£
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Awwww that is indeed very sad.
Worth a Thousand Words
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Such a shame. And like Jim I hate this kind of unnecessary graffiti too. This reminds me of the Botanical Garden in the centre of Lisbon – another casualty of the economic situation in Europe. But fortunately although the graffiti is everywhere in the city, this place seems to have avoided it (perhaps because it’s hard to find!) You can read about it here: https://smallbluegreenflowers.wordpress.com/2014/01/19/lisbons-botanical-garden-jardim-botanico/
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Oh dear, I’ve been to see your post. The Lisbon gardens will need a lot more money to resurrect them than this fairly small garden in Madrid. Let’s hope things get better for the people of both these countries soon.
On Fri, Jan 23, 2015 at 12:07 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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This is so beautiful. The graffiti makes me angry wherever I see it.
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It is sad to see this lovely statue defaced. And just as sad to see the public space so neglected.
On Fri, Jan 23, 2015 at 12:01 AM, Travel with Intent wrote:
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