Again,looking in my cd rom vault found a picture that made me write this post and should be in my blog for you and me, This is my dear Madrid ,as we said, From Madrid to heavens and a hole in the sky to look down on it everyday. The Plaza del Carmen surrounded by wonderful buildings ,as all Spain in one city, you have, see it and do it all here. Therefore, let me tell you on the Plaza del Carmen of Madrid !!! Hope you enjoy it as I.
The Plaza del Carmen is located in the center of Madrid. The name comes from the Calle del Carmen and the Church of the Carmen. The name of the area is due to the existence of the Convent of Carmen Calzado. The square was widened when it was refurbished in 1861, when the Convent of Carmen Calzado was demolished. At the end of the 19C, a fronton ;called the Frontón Central was built there, designed in 1898, which housed the Kursaal, one of Madrid’s largest music halls , from 1904 onwards. After being modified, it became home to the Madrid Cinema. The square was connected to the neighbouring Callao at the beginning of the 20C through the ground floor of the Hotel Florida, which was demolished after the Spanish Civil War to make way for a branch of Galerías Preciados,(my mom Gladys favorite store), now El Corte Inglés (see post). Since 1990, a bust of Pepín Fernández (founder of the now defunct Galerías Preciados retail chain) has stood in the centre of the square. At the beginning of the 21C, it had access to the Acteón Cinemas at one end and to the Muñoz Seca Theatre (see post) at the other. A nice parking lot is located between the streets Gran Vía, Montera and Puerta del Sol.This modern parking lot is located on the Plaza del Carmen, a few meters from the theater Muñoz Seca and the famous administration of the lottery Doña Manolita (see post), However, our often coming here is that my boys love to visit the MediaMarkt store (see pic left) on the square or Plaza del Carmen,2,dedicated to the sale of household appliances, computers and consumer electronics.
Other than finding me a picture , there is a lot of archeological findings here worth mentioning, me think, As the beforementioned,Convent of the Carmen was founded in 1573 with the permission that king Felipe II granted to the General of the Order Juan Bautista Rubeo around 1611. A year later the construction of a provisional church began. In the 17C,a new church was built, the works began in 1640 and ended in 1808. During this period, plumbing works were undertaken to supply water, while the cloister was being built. References to the convent during the 18C are almost non-existent. Already in 1836, the friars abandoned the convent, which was looted by French soldiers. Once the War of Independence ended, the friars returned to their residence, remaining there until the Confiscation of Mendizábal 19C, From that moment on the convent was occupied by the Amortization Offices and later by the Public Debt. the old convent of Carmen was already threatening ruin. Its demolition must have been carried out around 1898, thus expanding the Plaza del Carmen and leaving another part of the site ready for the construction of the Fronton Central , which was erected in 1899. Later the building would undergo several modifications to adapt its distribution to different uses.
The archaeological intervention has allowed determining the successive occupations of this space in the city of Madrid over time , The first is dated between the 9C and 10C, based on the discovery of Andalusian-type ceramic fragments, with printed decoration of ova or scales, very similar to that documented in the urban center of Córdoba. The second can be dated between the 12C and the first half of the 14C, represented by a brick structure with pipes of ceramic tubes strung together. From the third occupation, dated in the first half of the 16C, structures from the primitive urban fabric of the area have been found such as pavements, remains of houses with ceramic floors, rampart walls and brick piles, hydraulic infrastructures, a well and talavera pottery.Of the fourth and fifth the remains are more numerous, since the convent in this period 17-18C was in full activity. The plan of the religious building, its two cloisters ,and a passage area to an underground crypt have been documented, which was accessed by two stairs and would have a vaulted structure with bricks. The pavement was made of granite slabs, under which was the cemetery, having been located several tombstones with inscriptions of Carmelite parents. A courtyard with a central fountain has also been located in the eastern cloister. A large underground room has also been identified, which could be a cellar and a water collection system channeled to a central well in the courtyard. The sixth occupation is defined by new construction elements like partitions, walls and infrastructure works that date back to the 19C, when the convent began to house the Public Debt units, sealing some of the convent areas and forming new rooms. In the seventh, at the end of the 19C, the demolition of several structures erected in previous centuries was carried out since they were in very poor condition. During the eighth, at the end of the 19C, after the demolition of the convent, the site was occupied by the central pediment, whose construction partially affected the remains preserved underground. The ninth corresponds to the installation of the American Circus in 1923, adapting the pediment building for it. A large semi-underground structure with a circular floor plan with lateral ramp accesses was built, causing the destruction of a good part of the remains that were still preserved in the subsoil of the convent, particularly affecting the crypt.The last occupation is represented by the transformation of the building in the 19C to house the Cine Madrid, the adaptation for use as a circus space or American Circus that was very brief and another in the 19C to dedicate it to theatrical performances Teatro Madrid, returning soon after to dedicate itself to a movie theater.
The Madrid tourist office on the shopping triangle of Preciados, Sol and Carmen streets: https://www.esmadrid.com/en/sol-preciados-carmen-compras
The Comunidad de Madrid region tourist office on the archeological findings in the Plaza del Carmen : https://www.comunidad.madrid/en/cultura/patrimonio-cultural/yacimiento-plaza-carmen
There you go folks, another wonderful square in my dear Madrid, and a great place to walk at any hour. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Plaza del Carmen of Madrid as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 