Calle de la Armada Española

It took Madrid centuries to put the name of an entire institution on a plaque. Calle de la Armada Española was born on 29 May 2015, when acting mayor Ana Botella inaugurated it alongside the Navy’s chief of staff. The name honours not a single sailor but the whole institution, with roots documented since Ferdinand and Isabella: Elcano, Urdaneta, Blas de Lezo, Jorge Juan. Here is the detail that confuses the passer-by. The renamed stretch runs from the Paseo de Recoletos to Serrano, but beyond Serrano the same street is still called Calle de Jorge Juan. One straight line changes its name halfway along. That is why anyone looking for this street in Pedro de Répide’s guide will not find it: that work portrayed the streets of the early 20th century, long before the Navy had its own corner.