Arco de Cuchilleros
The arch bridges the steep drop between the raised Plaza Mayor and calle de Cuchilleros, laid out along the old Cava de San Miguel, the moat of the medieval wall. It takes its name from the street it opens onto, named for the guild of cutlers who had their workshops there.
When Juan Gómez de Mora finished enclosing the Plaza Mayor between 1617 and 1619, he ran into a problem of geometry: the southern side hung far above the Cava de San Miguel, the old moat that once ran alongside Madrid’s wall. To descend from one level to the other, arches and stairs had to be built at the corners. The grandest of them all was the Arco de Cuchilleros, a monumental mouth through which one descends to the street that shares its name.
And that name is a trade. Calle de Cuchilleros recalls the masters who made knives, blades, and edged weapons and who settled beside the square’s market, where a blade always found a buyer. Whoever walks down its steps today does so among inns and taverns that have been serving for centuries.