Plaza de la Villa: The Medieval and Habsburg Town Commons

Why is it significant?

Step into the quiet cobblestone square of Plaza de la Villa and pause beside the bronze statue of Spanish naval hero Don Álvaro de Bazán.

Key Facts

Open the walk

Step into the quiet cobblestone square of Plaza de la Villa and pause beside the bronze statue of Spanish naval hero Don Álvaro de Bazán. Look around at the surrounding facades: before the grand avenues of the Bourbons were built, this charming plaza was the political nerve center of medieval and Renaissance Madrid, home to the town hall for centuries.

Look at the Gothic tower on the eastern side with its horseshoe arches and battlements: the Torre de los Lujanes. Built in the early fifteenth century in Mudéjar brick style, it is one of the absolute oldest non-religious buildings surviving in Madrid. According to Spanish historical tradition, King Francis the First of France was held prisoner inside this tower after being captured by Emperor Charles the Fifth at the Battle of Pavia in fifteen twenty-five.

Across the square stands the Casa de la Villa, designed in sixteen forty-four by Juan Gómez de Mora, where the city council met and town prisoners were once held in cellar lockups below.

Walk west along Calle Mayor as the street opens into the monumental esplanade of the Royal Palace.