Calle de la Espada

Calle de la Espada begins at Plaza de Tirso de Molina and ends at Calle de la Esgrima, in the heart of Embajadores. It already bore this name on Texeira’s 1656 map, so it spans several centuries of Madrid history. It all began with a fencing school set up in the Inquisitor’s House. To attract pupils, the master hung an enormous rapier from an iron ring facing the entrance, presenting it as a relic with a story that bordered on the miraculous. The lure worked: Lope de Vega and his brother came here to learn. When the owner expelled the master over debts and kept the weapon, a lawsuit with the Mercedarian friars halted the building’s demolition, and the sword stayed hanging in plain view. Neighbours began calling the place after the weapon, and the courtyard became a street. A Duke of Alba, taken with the piece, bought it for his armoury; the sword left, but the name stayed. Here is the story many come to read: on 28 July 1917 the poet Gloria Fuertes was born at number 3. The city placed a plaque on that façade in 2015.