Calle de Belvis

Belvís is one of those place names a medieval traveler might utter on reaching the top of a hill. It comes from the Latin bellum visum, “beautiful view,” and names the high ground from which a wide landscape can be seen. It has relatives across the peninsula: Bellver, Belver, and the Italian borrowing belvedere, that light gallery meant for looking far. In Spain several towns bear this name, such as Belvís de la Jara, which fits the Madrid custom of naming streets of the Ensanche after place names from around the country. Even so, no clear record survives of why the town chose Belvís precisely for this short street in the Trafalgar district. Its barely sixty meters have little to do with the meaning of the name: here there is no height or horizon to contemplate, only a discreet stretch wedged between façades. The beautiful view stayed in the word.