Calle de Méndez Núñez
The street bears the name of Casto Méndez Núñez (Vigo, 1824 – Pontevedra, 1869), the rear admiral who led the bombardment of the port of Callao on 2 May 1866 during the Spanish–South American War. The action made him a national hero; he died at 44 from the after-effects of his wounds.
The Jerónimos neighbourhood arose from the Crown letting go of land. When it sold the grounds of the Royal Estate of the Buen Retiro, the council laid out between 1865 and 1870 a grid of new streets named after soldiers and politicians of the day. Between Ruiz de Alarcón and Alfonso XII lay the Calle de Méndez Núñez, a step away from the Salón de Reinos.
Casto Méndez Núñez joined the Navy in 1840 and chased pirates in Philippine waters. What made him famous happened on 2 May 1866 off Callao: with seven ships he charged the Peruvian batteries. Shrapnel struck him with eight fragments and he stayed on the bridge until he collapsed unconscious. The day cost the Spanish fleet 43 dead and more than a hundred wounded.
He is credited with a phrase that has outlived the battle better than the battle itself: “honour without ships is worth more than ships without honour”.