Calle de Meléndez Valdés

The name pays tribute to Juan Meléndez Valdés (1754-1817), regarded as the finest Spanish poet of the 18th century and a leading voice of the Enlightenment. The son of Extremaduran farmers, he signed his pastoral verses with the pen name Batilo, and with an eclogue so signed he won the Royal Spanish Academy’s prize in 1780. He was a professor at Salamanca, a friend of Jovellanos, and later a judge and prosecutor. His career took a turn during the French occupation: he accepted posts under the government of Joseph Bonaparte, and that Francophile standing dragged him into exile when the French withdrew. He died in Montpellier in 1817, far from the land he had sung in his odes. His remains did not return to Madrid until the turn of the century. The street runs through the Gaztambide and Arapiles districts, between Calle de la Princesa and Calle de Vallehermoso, in that grid of Chamberí where so many streets bear the names of writers.