Where is Diego Velazquez's body?

    Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez is the best-known and admired painter. I suppose you know his famous paintings like Los borrachos, Las lanzas and last, but not least Las Meninas.

    If you walk in the Ramales square (Plaza de Ramales) you will see an ugly monument with an iron cross representing the Order of Santiago. It marks the place (more or less) where he was buried and he might be under the asphalt. By the way, look at this astonishing building It’s incredible, but nowadays it is under a renovation.

    Diego Velazquez died on August 6th and he was buried in the church “San Juan Bautista”. It is certain that he was dressed in a tunic with a scarlet insignia on his chest, a hat , a sword, boots and spurs.

    But 150 years after, Jose I Bonaparte was named king of Spain. He wanted a modern, clean, and open city, so he tore down the church. For this reason, the body of Velazquez was forgotten.

    However, in summer of 1996 while a car park was being built in the “Plaza de Oriente”, workers came across archaeological remains.They found an Islamic watchtower and the basement of the Church. You can see the position of the old church, and the basement. Consequently, experts looked for Velazquez´s body. Unfortunately, nothing was found.

    But in 1994 a pair of mummies were discovered in the Convent of San Placido. They had undergone restoration. They were from the XVII century, like Velazquez. The man was from the “Santiago Order” like Velazquez. And lastly, one man and a woman around their sixties like Velazquez and his wife.

Was that possible?

    In 1808, Jose I Bonaparte ordered that all bodies that had been buried in churches were exhumed and transferred outside the city. However, famous people could be transferred to another church.

    For this reason, it was decided to study the mummies. A commission of 13 experts was created, from Government (politicians), the Ministry of Culture, the Church, and University professors.

    Firstly, in the picture of “Las Lanzas”, there is a perfect fingerprint of Velazquez, so they decided to study the mummy. Unfortunately , the researcher said that after 400 years the fingerprint was deteriorated.

    Sencondly, it´s a fact that painters who painted in that era used paint with lead, so there could be traces in his bones. For this reason, they ask for a DNA test. Unfortunately, the result was unsuccessful.

    And last but not least, they knew that the Spanish prince Felipe VI was a descendant of Diego Velázquez. Once again, the scientists said that this descendant was pretty remote.

    

 

   Finally, they decided to finish the research because Velázquez was buried with boots and spurs. The mummy of San Placido wore shoes and tights.
 

   However, in 2004, a new document was discovered. Mr Gaspar de Fuensalida, a close friend of Velázquez paid 3000 ducats to the Convent of San Placido, because his founder had problems with the Spanish Inquisition. That gave him burial rights.

But the work group said that the clothes were a fact.

    Then, if you walk in the Plaza de Ramales, be careful, you could step on Velazquez´s Bones