 View of the square in 2015 | |
 | |
| Native name | Plaza del Callao (Spanish) |
|---|---|
| Namesake | Battle of Callao |
| Type | square |
| Maintained by | Ayuntamiento of Madrid |
| Location | Centro, Madrid, Spain |
| Postal code | 28013 |
| Coordinates | 40°25′12″N3°42′21″W / 40.419862°N 3.705828°W |
| Major junctions | Calle de Preciados, Gran Vía |
The Callao Square (Spanish: plaza del Callao) [1] is located at the centre of the Spanish capital of Madrid.
Shaped in 1861, [2] the square was formally opened in June 1866; [3] its name remembers the May 1866 battle of Callao between the Spanish naval forces under the command of Casto Méndez Núñez and the Peruvian army. [3]
The square was substantially and aggressively reformed in the 21st century. [4] The reform removed nearly all elements present by that time, except the metro station access and a big tree, turning the square into a pedestrian and homogeneous space, while adding a limited number of pieces of urban furniture. [5] Conversely, big screens were added to the surrounding buildings. [5] Located in a very commercial area of the city, the pedestrian space is often for rent to companies wanting to carry out advertising events. [6]
Buildings on the Square include:
El Corte Inglés S.A., headquartered in Madrid, is the biggest department store group in Europe and ranks third worldwide. Its primary source of sales is from department stores, followed by internet sales. It is a family business, with most stock being held by relatives of the deceased businessmen Ramon Areces Rodriguez and César Rodríguez González (1882-1966), and the Ramon Areces foundation.
Paseo de la Castellana, commonly known as La Castellana, is a major thoroughfare in Madrid, Spain. Cutting across the city from south to north, it has been described as the "true structuring axis" of the city.
The main components of the Coat of arms of Madrid have their origin in the Middle Ages. The different coats of arms have experienced several modifications, losing for example motifs often displayed in early designs such as water and flint.
The 1923 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 29 April and on Sunday, 13 May 1923, to elect the 19th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
The 1920 Spanish general election was held on Sunday, 19 December 1920 and on Sunday, 2 January 1921, to elect the 19th Cortes of the Kingdom of Spain in the Restoration period. All 409 seats in the Congress of Deputies were up for election, as well as 180 of 360 seats in the Senate.
The Plaza de Lavapiés is a public square in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the area of the same name, Lavapiés.
Luis García Montero is a Spanish poet and literary critic, as well as a professor of Spanish Literature at the University of Granada.
The anti-austerity movement in Spain, also referred to as the 15-M Movement, and the Indignados Movement, was a series of protests, demonstrations, and occupations against austerity policies in Spain that began around the local and regional elections of 2011 and 2012. Beginning on 15 May 2011, many of the subsequent demonstrations spread through various social networks such as Real Democracy NOW and Youth Without a Future.
The Walls of Madrid are the five successive sets of walls that surrounded the city of Madrid from the Middle Ages until the end of the 19th century. Some of the walls had a defensive or military function, while others made it easy to tax goods entering the city. Towards the end of the 19th century the demographic explosion that came with the Industrial Revolution prompted urban expansion throughout Spain. Older walls were torn down to enable the expansion of the city under the grid plan of Carlos María de Castro.
Malasaña is an area in the centre of Madrid, Spain. While it doesn't align with any specific administrative division, it is frequently associated with the Universidad neighborhood, the broader administrative district in which Malasaña is situated. The tourist information webpage from the Madrid City Council defines its boundaries as the streets of San Bernardo, the Gran Vía, Fuencarral and Carranza. Malasaña is associated with a creative and counter-cultural scene.
Eduardo González Calleja is a Spanish historian, professor of Contemporary History at the Charles III University of Madrid (UC3M). He is the author of a long list of scholar works dealing with political violence.
The plaza de Tirso de Molina is a public square in the city of Madrid, Spain.
Alfonso García-Valdecasas y García-Valdecasas was a Spanish professor of civil law, lawyer, politician, and founding member of the Falange Española.
The calle de Bravo Murillo is a major street in Madrid, Spain.
The Calle de Atocha is a street in Madrid, Spain. It constitutes a major axis within the Centro District.
The Arrabal of Saint Martin was a medieval arrabal (neighborhood) that sat outside the Christian Walls of Madrid. It was located around the location of the current Plaza of San Martín, and occupied the space between Calle del Arenal, the Plaza de las Descalzas, Plaza del Callao, and Calle de las Navas de Tolosa. It grew as a population center around the Monastery of Saint Martin, neighboring San Martín was the Arrabal of San Ginés, and both were absorbed by the growth of the city in the 17th century.
The Plaza de Galicia is a 20th century square located in the city centre of Pontevedra (Spain), on the edge of the Campolongo neighbourhood.
The history of the Puerta del Sol represents an essential part of the memory of the Villa de Madrid, not only because the Puerta del Sol is a point of frequent passage, but also because it constitutes the "center of gravity" of Madrid's urban planning. The square has been acquiring its character as a place of historical importance from its uncertain beginnings as a wide and impersonal street in the sixteenth century, to the descriptions of the first romantic travelers, the receptions of kings, popular rebellions, demonstrations, etc. It has been the scene of major events in the life of the city, from the struggle against the French invaders in 1808 to the proclamation of the Second Republic in 1931, and it has also retained its place as the protagonist of the custom of serving twelve grapes on New Year's Eve, to the sound of the chimes struck by the Correos clock. Nowadays it is a communications hub, a meeting point, a place of appointments, a place for celebrations and the beginning of demonstrations in the Capital.
Calle de Preciados, is a public pedestrian street in central Madrid, Spain, which spans from Puerta del Sol to Plaza de Santo Domingo via Plaza de Callao, where it takes a bend. It is about 500-metre long.