Madrid attractions
Lope de Vega's life story resembles a turbulent Baroque drama. As a youth he fled from a Jesuit college, at 15 he signed up for the war against the Portuguese and later studied theology at the University of Alcala de Henares. As a naval recruit he witnessed the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. Back in Madrid he became a secretary and procurer of women for the Duke of Alba, but then took up writing, penning hundreds of plays over 40 years.
More things to do Madrid
When his second wife died, he joined the St John's Order of Knights and was ordained as a priest, even though he had a reputation as a philanderer and frequenter of brothels. In fact he was even banished from Madrid for a time. Yet the public flocked to the courtyard corrales to see his popular comedies. In later life Lope de Vega became a doctor of theology and spent his last few years in penitence, whipping himself to death at the age of 72.
Situated on the corner of Calle del Leon and Calle de las Huertas is the Real Academia de la Historia. Built in early classical style by Juan de Villanuva (1788), it houes the library of the Royal Academy of History, together With 200,000 books and many other Important manuscripts. If you follow the Calle del Leon to the north, you will Come to Calle del Prado, a street lined with many pensiones and antique shops.
The Ateneo at No. 21 plays an important part in the cultural life of Madrid. Founded in 1835, it moved to this address in 1884. Its main function is as an academy,educational centre and literary club. Before the Civil War, liberal intellectuals, progressives, freemasons and independent-minded scientists met here to discuss the arts and politics. Following the Madrid model, many branches opened up in other Spanish cities. Although Franco suppressed liberal thinking, the athenaeum still served as a forum for opposition forces. Traditional debating sessions are still held in the cafe and its lectures are open to the public.
Opening up on the other side of the junction with Calle Echegaray, named after the politician and winner of the Nobel prize for literature of 1904, Jose Echegaray (1832-1916), is the attractive Plaza Santa Ana with a memorial to Calderon (1880) in the middle. The foundation stone for the square was laid in 1610 by Jose I, otherwise known as Joseph Bonaparte.
The Reina Victoria Hotel Madrid
The impressive glass facade of the Reina Victoria hotel dates from 1919. A popular haunt with bullfighters and fans, it has lost some of its former splendour. The other end of the plaza is occupied by the Teatro Espanol . In the 16th century, theatre groups performed in what was then known as the Corral de Comedias del Principe. The present building was designed in 1802 by Juan de Villanueva. After a series of fires and recent modemisation, the theatre, where mainly classical Spanish dramas are performed, now radiates with fresh colours.
Manzanilla in Madrid
Manzanilla, the smooth dry sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda, is the most popular drink in the Huertas quarter. For the best manzanilla in Madrid, plus delicious olive tapas, visit Taverne La Venencia, Echegaray 7.It is also worth making the detour to sample some of the tapas bars on Calle Espoz y Mina, Calle Victoria and Calle de la Cruz.
Restaurants beneath the awning in the narrow Pasaje Matheu serve paella and spicy patatas bravas. Follow Calle de las Huertas to Plaza Jacinto Benavente. This Madrid dramatist (1866-1954) received the Nobel prize for literature in 1922. Passing Teatro Calderon, a musical theatre dating from 1920, Calle Doctor Cortew leads to Plaza Tirso de Molina. A memorial remembers the monk and Mercedarian Order missionary, whose Seducer of Seville (1617) introduced into literature the hero-villain Don Juan, a libertine whom Tirso derived from popular legends but recreated with originality.
Lavapies Madrid
Take a tour through the barrios bajos, the low lying areas next to the south of the Old Town. Its name, once in common use, was not a reflection of the quarter's geographic allocation down by the Rio Manzanares, but much more to do with its social composition. Lavapies might initially seem a rather rundown quarter but behind the rather scruffy faade lies a closelyknit community imbued with a genuine madrileño atmosphere. Virtually nowhere else in the capital will outsiders get into conversation with the locals so easily, no other district has so many old fashioned shops and bodegas. Immigrants from north Africa, Latin America and the Orient bring some exotic touches to a quarter that has an almost provincial feel. Added to this contrasting mix is EI Rastro, a flea market, where on Sunday everything from pure junk to antiques and colourful cage birds are traded.
As soon as you emerge from the Anton Martin metro station, you will find yourself among the crowds that throng around the market in the narrow Pasaje Don.Descending steeply to the south from Calle de la Magdalena is Calle del Ave Maria. It crosses narrow lanes such as Calle del Olmo (Street of Elms) and Calle de Tres Peces (Street of the Three Fish), whose names refer to anecdotes about the neighbourhood. A tale is often told, for example, about Calle de Cabeza (Street of the Head). A well to do priest, who once lived here, was the victim of a mugger.
To avoid leaving any evidence, the robber cut off the priest's head. Years later, after the murderer had bought a lamb's head at the butcher's, curious neighbours wanted to know what was wrapped in the bloody cloth. Unsuspectingly, the murderer opened it and came face to face with the fixed gaze of the dead priest. Close to madness, the rogue confessed to the murder and soon lost his own head on the executioner's block. Later on, the bundle was examined, only to reveal the lamb's head.
The traditional Nuevo Cafe Barbieri is a meeting place for the district's alternative scene. The name Plaza de Lavapies and the quarter it serves probably derives from the Hebrew. Avapies means something like 'place of the Jews' , but where the 'I' came from has never been fully explained. Nothing remains of the Sephardic culture, as in 1492 the Catholic Kings forced all Spanish Jews to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country. The modest Iglesia de San Lorenzo in Calle de la Fe (Street of Faith) now occupies the spot where the synagogue once stood. Known for many years as the church that served the city's poor, it is also referred to as the Iglesia de las Pulgas or Church of Fleas.To get a better feel for the atmosphere in the quarter, walk a few yards to the north.
Greying houses with colourful pot plants, washing hanging on tiny balconies, clearance shops, vegetable stalls and simple bars line the street. The people all know each other and always have time for a quick chat. Licoreria EI Madroño in Calle Caravaca sells a liqueur and pastries made from the fruit of the strawberry tree - something of a rarity in modern Madrid.
There is another unusual sight in Calle Meson de Parades. The Iglesia del Convento de las Escuelas Pias de San Fernando , a monastery church built in the 18th century, was like many other institutions belonging to the reactionary Catholic Church, plundered by anarchists and burnt to the ground at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Franco insisted that the ruins be left to stand as a reminder of 'leftwing dangers'. Surrounding the broad square in front of the shattered walls (with a statue of the Mexican cholis composer Agustin Lara) are the tenement blocks typical of the barrios bajos.
The best example of one of these, Corrala is to be seen diagonally opposite on the other side of Calle Meson de Parades. A characteristic feature of these multistorey flats, built in Andalusian style, are the wooden decks, which provide access to the narrow dwellings. This block was built in 1839 and last renovated in 1979. If you are in Madrid for the summer festival, then you must take the opportunity to watch one of the evocative zarzuela performances in La Corral's courtyard.
San Cayetano, the patron of the Theatine Order church, is also the patron saint of Lavapies. He is remembered on 7 August when the surrounding streets vibrate with music and dancing. To mark the beginning of the festivities, a procession winds through the quarter, with residents bearing a statue of the saint at the head.
If it is time for food or refreshments, return to Calle Meson de Parades. Hidden behind No. 13 is one of the oldest and most unusual bars in Madrid, the Taberna de Antonio Sanchez . Opened in 1830, it was initially owned by the picador (the horseman who goads the bull), Colita, but was later taken over by the well known matador, Antonio Sanchez. When an accident forced him to give up his glorious career in the arena, he devoted himself to his small bar. He lovingly decorated it with bullfighting memorabilia, some of his own pictures and two bulls' heads. Literary figures such as Miguel de Unamuno and Ramon Maria del ValleInclan were regular guests. Nowadays it is not just curious tourists who come to the galvanised bar to sample a fine Valdepeñas or a rabo de loro (braised tail of bull).
EI Rastro Madrid
Spain's most colourful and most famous flea market, is held. The best starting point for visitors wishing to experience the full spectacle is Plaza de Cascorro. Where now an astonishing range of junk, clothing, books and antiques can, on a good day, attract up to 300,000 visitors, there was during the Middle Ages a district for butchers and tanners. The word rastro literally translated means 'trail', i.e. of blood left behind on the streets.
The tradition of selling secondhand goods of every kind goes back to the 18th century, but do not imagine that you will pick up a genuine Goya for a song, as the 3,000 or so dealers here know their trade. In any event, the range of goods on sale has changed considerably in recent years. Instead of curios and bric-a-brac, many of today's offerings are cheap goods, mainly clothing, CDs, jewellery and toys imported from the Far East. Even so, if you keep your eyes open, you may well pick up a bargain. Tourists must be on their guard against thieves here. Cameras, wallets and handbags are their usual targets.
What may at first glance seem like a chaotic collection of street traders, on closer inspection turns out to be organised in an orderly fashion. You will discover this for yourself, if you follow the main artery, Ribera de Curtidores, downhill and explore the small side alleys. Genuine junk is laid out in Calle Mira el RIo Bajo, while clothes and shoes are offered for sale around Plaza General Vara del Rey. Specialists in old furniture and household goods are based in Calle Carlos Arniches, while oil paintings of dubious quality the Spanish seem to go for windmills and blazing-eyed women wearing Carmen costume are sold in Calle San Cayetano. Plaza del Campillo del Mundo Nuevo is the place for bookworms to browse.
A Sunday ritual for many madrileños is to breakfast on churros con chocolate in one of the many bars beside EI Rastro and then to prepare for siesta time with wine and tapas. If you cannot make the Sunday market, it is still worth making a tour of the district during the week as many small retailers line Ribera de Curtidores. There are shops in the former fish market at the southern end of Calle de Toledo which sell antiques in a far more elegant setting, namely the modernised Mercado Puerta de Toledo.
More things to do Madrid
When his second wife died, he joined the St John's Order of Knights and was ordained as a priest, even though he had a reputation as a philanderer and frequenter of brothels. In fact he was even banished from Madrid for a time. Yet the public flocked to the courtyard corrales to see his popular comedies. In later life Lope de Vega became a doctor of theology and spent his last few years in penitence, whipping himself to death at the age of 72.
Situated on the corner of Calle del Leon and Calle de las Huertas is the Real Academia de la Historia. Built in early classical style by Juan de Villanuva (1788), it houes the library of the Royal Academy of History, together With 200,000 books and many other Important manuscripts. If you follow the Calle del Leon to the north, you will Come to Calle del Prado, a street lined with many pensiones and antique shops.
The Ateneo at No. 21 plays an important part in the cultural life of Madrid. Founded in 1835, it moved to this address in 1884. Its main function is as an academy,educational centre and literary club. Before the Civil War, liberal intellectuals, progressives, freemasons and independent-minded scientists met here to discuss the arts and politics. Following the Madrid model, many branches opened up in other Spanish cities. Although Franco suppressed liberal thinking, the athenaeum still served as a forum for opposition forces. Traditional debating sessions are still held in the cafe and its lectures are open to the public.
Opening up on the other side of the junction with Calle Echegaray, named after the politician and winner of the Nobel prize for literature of 1904, Jose Echegaray (1832-1916), is the attractive Plaza Santa Ana with a memorial to Calderon (1880) in the middle. The foundation stone for the square was laid in 1610 by Jose I, otherwise known as Joseph Bonaparte.
The Reina Victoria Hotel Madrid
The impressive glass facade of the Reina Victoria hotel dates from 1919. A popular haunt with bullfighters and fans, it has lost some of its former splendour. The other end of the plaza is occupied by the Teatro Espanol . In the 16th century, theatre groups performed in what was then known as the Corral de Comedias del Principe. The present building was designed in 1802 by Juan de Villanueva. After a series of fires and recent modemisation, the theatre, where mainly classical Spanish dramas are performed, now radiates with fresh colours.
Manzanilla in Madrid
Manzanilla, the smooth dry sherry from Sanlucar de Barrameda, is the most popular drink in the Huertas quarter. For the best manzanilla in Madrid, plus delicious olive tapas, visit Taverne La Venencia, Echegaray 7.It is also worth making the detour to sample some of the tapas bars on Calle Espoz y Mina, Calle Victoria and Calle de la Cruz.
Restaurants beneath the awning in the narrow Pasaje Matheu serve paella and spicy patatas bravas. Follow Calle de las Huertas to Plaza Jacinto Benavente. This Madrid dramatist (1866-1954) received the Nobel prize for literature in 1922. Passing Teatro Calderon, a musical theatre dating from 1920, Calle Doctor Cortew leads to Plaza Tirso de Molina. A memorial remembers the monk and Mercedarian Order missionary, whose Seducer of Seville (1617) introduced into literature the hero-villain Don Juan, a libertine whom Tirso derived from popular legends but recreated with originality.
Lavapies Madrid
Take a tour through the barrios bajos, the low lying areas next to the south of the Old Town. Its name, once in common use, was not a reflection of the quarter's geographic allocation down by the Rio Manzanares, but much more to do with its social composition. Lavapies might initially seem a rather rundown quarter but behind the rather scruffy faade lies a closelyknit community imbued with a genuine madrileño atmosphere. Virtually nowhere else in the capital will outsiders get into conversation with the locals so easily, no other district has so many old fashioned shops and bodegas. Immigrants from north Africa, Latin America and the Orient bring some exotic touches to a quarter that has an almost provincial feel. Added to this contrasting mix is EI Rastro, a flea market, where on Sunday everything from pure junk to antiques and colourful cage birds are traded.
As soon as you emerge from the Anton Martin metro station, you will find yourself among the crowds that throng around the market in the narrow Pasaje Don.Descending steeply to the south from Calle de la Magdalena is Calle del Ave Maria. It crosses narrow lanes such as Calle del Olmo (Street of Elms) and Calle de Tres Peces (Street of the Three Fish), whose names refer to anecdotes about the neighbourhood. A tale is often told, for example, about Calle de Cabeza (Street of the Head). A well to do priest, who once lived here, was the victim of a mugger.
To avoid leaving any evidence, the robber cut off the priest's head. Years later, after the murderer had bought a lamb's head at the butcher's, curious neighbours wanted to know what was wrapped in the bloody cloth. Unsuspectingly, the murderer opened it and came face to face with the fixed gaze of the dead priest. Close to madness, the rogue confessed to the murder and soon lost his own head on the executioner's block. Later on, the bundle was examined, only to reveal the lamb's head.
The traditional Nuevo Cafe Barbieri is a meeting place for the district's alternative scene. The name Plaza de Lavapies and the quarter it serves probably derives from the Hebrew. Avapies means something like 'place of the Jews' , but where the 'I' came from has never been fully explained. Nothing remains of the Sephardic culture, as in 1492 the Catholic Kings forced all Spanish Jews to either convert to Catholicism or leave the country. The modest Iglesia de San Lorenzo in Calle de la Fe (Street of Faith) now occupies the spot where the synagogue once stood. Known for many years as the church that served the city's poor, it is also referred to as the Iglesia de las Pulgas or Church of Fleas.To get a better feel for the atmosphere in the quarter, walk a few yards to the north.
Greying houses with colourful pot plants, washing hanging on tiny balconies, clearance shops, vegetable stalls and simple bars line the street. The people all know each other and always have time for a quick chat. Licoreria EI Madroño in Calle Caravaca sells a liqueur and pastries made from the fruit of the strawberry tree - something of a rarity in modern Madrid.
There is another unusual sight in Calle Meson de Parades. The Iglesia del Convento de las Escuelas Pias de San Fernando , a monastery church built in the 18th century, was like many other institutions belonging to the reactionary Catholic Church, plundered by anarchists and burnt to the ground at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. Franco insisted that the ruins be left to stand as a reminder of 'leftwing dangers'. Surrounding the broad square in front of the shattered walls (with a statue of the Mexican cholis composer Agustin Lara) are the tenement blocks typical of the barrios bajos.
The best example of one of these, Corrala is to be seen diagonally opposite on the other side of Calle Meson de Parades. A characteristic feature of these multistorey flats, built in Andalusian style, are the wooden decks, which provide access to the narrow dwellings. This block was built in 1839 and last renovated in 1979. If you are in Madrid for the summer festival, then you must take the opportunity to watch one of the evocative zarzuela performances in La Corral's courtyard.
San Cayetano, the patron of the Theatine Order church, is also the patron saint of Lavapies. He is remembered on 7 August when the surrounding streets vibrate with music and dancing. To mark the beginning of the festivities, a procession winds through the quarter, with residents bearing a statue of the saint at the head.
If it is time for food or refreshments, return to Calle Meson de Parades. Hidden behind No. 13 is one of the oldest and most unusual bars in Madrid, the Taberna de Antonio Sanchez . Opened in 1830, it was initially owned by the picador (the horseman who goads the bull), Colita, but was later taken over by the well known matador, Antonio Sanchez. When an accident forced him to give up his glorious career in the arena, he devoted himself to his small bar. He lovingly decorated it with bullfighting memorabilia, some of his own pictures and two bulls' heads. Literary figures such as Miguel de Unamuno and Ramon Maria del ValleInclan were regular guests. Nowadays it is not just curious tourists who come to the galvanised bar to sample a fine Valdepeñas or a rabo de loro (braised tail of bull).
EI Rastro Madrid
Spain's most colourful and most famous flea market, is held. The best starting point for visitors wishing to experience the full spectacle is Plaza de Cascorro. Where now an astonishing range of junk, clothing, books and antiques can, on a good day, attract up to 300,000 visitors, there was during the Middle Ages a district for butchers and tanners. The word rastro literally translated means 'trail', i.e. of blood left behind on the streets.
The tradition of selling secondhand goods of every kind goes back to the 18th century, but do not imagine that you will pick up a genuine Goya for a song, as the 3,000 or so dealers here know their trade. In any event, the range of goods on sale has changed considerably in recent years. Instead of curios and bric-a-brac, many of today's offerings are cheap goods, mainly clothing, CDs, jewellery and toys imported from the Far East. Even so, if you keep your eyes open, you may well pick up a bargain. Tourists must be on their guard against thieves here. Cameras, wallets and handbags are their usual targets.
What may at first glance seem like a chaotic collection of street traders, on closer inspection turns out to be organised in an orderly fashion. You will discover this for yourself, if you follow the main artery, Ribera de Curtidores, downhill and explore the small side alleys. Genuine junk is laid out in Calle Mira el RIo Bajo, while clothes and shoes are offered for sale around Plaza General Vara del Rey. Specialists in old furniture and household goods are based in Calle Carlos Arniches, while oil paintings of dubious quality the Spanish seem to go for windmills and blazing-eyed women wearing Carmen costume are sold in Calle San Cayetano. Plaza del Campillo del Mundo Nuevo is the place for bookworms to browse.
A Sunday ritual for many madrileños is to breakfast on churros con chocolate in one of the many bars beside EI Rastro and then to prepare for siesta time with wine and tapas. If you cannot make the Sunday market, it is still worth making a tour of the district during the week as many small retailers line Ribera de Curtidores. There are shops in the former fish market at the southern end of Calle de Toledo which sell antiques in a far more elegant setting, namely the modernised Mercado Puerta de Toledo.
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