The Puerta del Sol is a public square in Madrid, one of the best known and busiest places in the city. This is the centre of the radial network of Spanish roads. The square also contains the famous clock whose bells mark the traditional eating of the Twelve Grapes and the beginning of a new year. The New Year's celebration has been broadcast live since 31 December 1962 on major radio and television networks including Atresmedia and RTVE.
Centro is a district of Madrid, Spain. It is approximately 5.23 km2 (2.02 sq mi) in size. It has a population of 149,718 people and a population density of 28,587 people/km2. It roughly corresponds to the bulk of the housing formerly enclosed by the so-called Walls of Philip IV. The district is made up of the neighbourhoods of Cortes, Embajadores, Justicia, Universidad, Palacio and Sol.
Madrid, the capital of Spain, is divided into 21 districts, which are further subdivided into 131 administrative wards. Additional neighborhoods exist outside the boundaries of administrative borders. Each district is governed by a body named Junta Municipal de Distrito. Residents of Madrid are typically called Madrileños.
Lavapiés is a historic neighbourhood in the city of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the administrative ward (barrio) of Embajadores in the downtown Centro District, southwest of neighbouring neighbourhood La Latina.
La Latina is a historic neighborhood in the Centro district of downtown Madrid, Spain. La Latina occupies the place of the oldest area in Madrid, the Islamic citadel inside the city walls, with narrow streets and large squares. It is administratively locked almost entirely within the district of Palacio in Centro. It was named after the old hospital, founded in 1499 by Beatriz Galindo "La Latina". It occupies a large part of what is known as El Madrid de los Austrias, and although its boundaries are subjective, it could be argued that it was essentially the vicinity of the carrera de San Francisco street - that continues from the Plaza de la Cebada up to the San Francisco el Grande Basilica. These limits are: to the north, Segovia street - a deep ravine formerly occupied by the San Pedro Stream which empties into the Manzanares River, to the south there is la Ronda and Puerta de Toledo, on the east there is Toledo street - bordering Rastro and the district of Lavapiés - and to the west, Bailen street.
Calle de Alcalá is among the longest streets in Madrid. It starts at the Puerta del Sol and goes on for 11 kilometres (6.8 mi), to the northeastern outskirts of the city. Henry David Inglis described it in 1837 as "long, of superb width, and flanked by a splendid range of unequal buildings".
Acacias or Las Acacias is an administrative neighborhood (barrio) of Madrid belonging to the district of Arganzuela. It has an area of 1.074172 km2 (0.414740 sq mi). As of 1 February 2020, it has a population of 37,049.
The now defunct Convento de San Felipe el Real was a former Madrilenian convent of Calced Augustinian monks, located at the beginning of Calle Mayor in Madrid, next to the Puerta del Sol. Built between 16th and 17th centuries, was rise on a large pedestal, was part of it a famous talking shop of the city. One of its famous guests was Friar Luis de León. It was opposite the Palacio de Oñate.
The Walls of Felipe IV surrounded the city of Madrid between 1625 and 1868. Philip IV ordered their construction to replace the earlier Walls of Philip II and the Walls del Arrabal, which had already been surpassed by the growth of population of Madrid. These were not defensive walls, but essentially served fiscal and surveillance purposes: to control the access of goods to the city, ensure the collection of taxes, and to monitor who went in and out of Madrid. The materials used for construction were brick, mortar and compacted earth.
The Walls del Arrabal were the third in a set of five walls built around Madrid, now the capital of Spain. There are no remaining ruins of the Walls del Arrabal, leaving some debate as to their extent and the period of their construction. It is possible that the walls were built as early as the 12th century, however they were most likely constructed in 1438. The walls may have been intended to protect people against the plagues that ravaged the city at the time. The walls united the urbanized suburbs of the city and prevented entry of the infected.
The Walls of Philip II were walls in the city of Madrid that Philip II, in 1566, constructed for fiscal and sanitary control. The walls enclosed an area of about 125 ha.
Embajadores is an administrative neighborhood (barrio) of Madrid, belonging to the Centro District.
Malasaña is an area in the center 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 fringe cultural scene.
Old Town of Cáceres is a historic walled city in Cáceres, Spain.
The Calle de Toledo is a historic street in central Madrid, Spain, running across the Centro and Arganzuela districts.
The Monument to Eloy Gonzalo is an instance of public art in Madrid, Spain. It is a monument dedicated to Eloy Gonzalo, the so-called Hero of Cascorro. Erected on the plaza de Cascorro, it consists of a bronze statue of the aforementioned Cuban War hero authored by Aniceto Marinas, put on a stone plinth.
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 metres (1,600 ft) long.
