PLAZA DE LA VILLA

Description

Essentials about Plaza de la Villa in brief

Located in the heart of Madrid’s old town, Plaza de la Villa is undoubtedly the most beautiful historic square in the Spanish capital. The beauty of Plaza de la Villa is made up of the main facades of three buildings from different centuries, of great historical and artistic value: The Casa y Torre de los Lujanes from the 15th century, the Casa de Cisneros from the 16th century and the Casa de la Villa from the 17th century.

The buildings on Plaza de la Villa

Casa y Torre de los Lujanes

Already in the Middle Ages, Plaza de la Villa was one of the most important centers of the city. The oldest building in the square is the Casa y Torre de los Lujanes, located on the east side, a noble palace built in the late 15th century in Gothic and Mudejar style. The building is architecturally interesting because it is one of the few testimonies of Mudejar architecture in Madrid. Today the building houses the Academy of Moral and Political Sciences.

Casa de Cisneros

The second oldest building is the Casa de Cisneros on the south side of the square. The palace was built in 1537 by order of the nephew of the famous Cardinal Cisneros in the Plateresque style, a Spanish variant of early Renaissance architecture. Today the building serves as the seat of the Mayor of Madrid.

Casa de la Villa

And the third oldest and largest house in Plaza de la Villa is the Casa de la Villa, built in 1644 in the Baroque style on the west side of the square. Given the building’s modest dimensions, it’s hard to believe that the Casa de la Villa was once the city hall of such a powerful city as Madrid. Since then, Madrid’s city government has moved to the much larger Cybele Palace. However, parts of the administration are still based in the Casa de la Villa.

The Monument of Don Álvaro de Bazán

In Plaza de la Villa there is a monument in the middle of a large flowerbed. It depicts Don Álvaro de Bazán, navigator and admiral of the Spanish fleet in the 16th century. The monument was inaugurated in 1888 on the occasion of the 300th anniversary of the death of Don Álvaro de Bazán. It is said that the admiral was not defeated once in battle during his 50-year career, an extraordinary feat for the time.