Calle de Gonzalo de Córdoba

The name recalls Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, born in Montilla in 1453 and known across Europe as the Great Captain. Hardened in the wars of Granada, he leapt to Italy, where he drove the French from Naples and won at Cerignola and the Garigliano in 1503. He was among the first to combine pikemen and arquebusiers in a single body, a tactic that anticipated modern infantry. Madrid dedicated this street to him on 6 February 1860. He died in Granada in 1515. From him comes “the Great Captain’s accounts,” the expression still used for an outlandish expense report impossible to verify. The street runs between Fuencarral and the plaza de Olavide. At number 12 survives an old Metro electrical substation, now the center where Madrid’s smart transit tickets are designed.