CASA DE AMERICA MADRID

In Spanish, the word 'America' tends to refer to Latin America rather than to the USA. Ties between Spain and her former colonies remain strong, and this lively cultural centre celebrates that connection. Since opening in 1992, it has hosted a wide range of exhibitions, concerts, films and events reflecting Latin American culture. Next door is the elaborately decorated 19th-century Palacio de Linares. Supposedly haunted, it was the home of a wealthy financier whose son fell in love with a shop girl. Sent away to England, he returned to Madrid on his father's death. The couple married, but later discovered a letter explaining that the girl was the financier's illegitimate daughter. Pope Leon XIII told them that they could remain together but must be chaste. Their unhappy ghosts are said to inhabit the mansion.