Calle Acanto

The acanthus grows wild across the Mediterranean basin, with large, toothed, bright green leaves that open in a rosette close to the ground. Its name comes from the Greek ákantha, thorn, for the jagged edges of the leaf. From that leaf came one of the most copied motifs in art. The story goes that the sculptor Callimachus saw an acanthus sprouting around a basket left on a young woman’s grave, its leaves curling against the wicker, and from that image he drew the model for the Corinthian capital. Ever since, it has adorned columns, friezes and mouldings on almost every building with classical aspirations. In this corner of Arganzuela, next to Méndez Álvaro, the street slips between old industrial warehouses and shares its neighbourhood with other plant names, such as Acacias.