Calle de los Tilos

Behind the sign is a particular tree: the lime, from the Latin tilia, which reached Spanish by way of the Old French til. There is no record of the exact reason for dedicating this short street in Hispanoamérica, though the name fits among the area’s streets named after plants. The lime tree deserves the plaque. With a broad crown and heart-shaped leaves with toothed edges, it can live for centuries and crack its bark with age. In summer it covers itself in pale flowers so fragrant that the bees work them without rest, and from those flowers comes linden tea, the infusion so many take to calm the nerves or find sleep. The tree also carries a long sacred aura. In Germanic and Norse mythology it was held to be a tree of protection, and beneath its shade people gathered to dispense justice and settle disputes. Of that ancient reverence nothing remains here but the name.