Calle de Noviciado

Conde Duque·Universidad

The name comes from the novitiate of the Society of Jesus, founded in 1602 under the patronage of Ana Félix de Guzmán, Marchioness of Camarasa, who gave over her palace and the adjoining plots to build the religious complex. The church was blessed in 1605. The novitiate occupied the block bounded by today’s San Bernardo, Noviciado, Amaniel and Reyes streets. On the Espinosa de los Monteros map (1769) the street still appears as Calle de San Benito; it took the name of the convent once locals had adopted it.

The land where Calle de Noviciado now runs, between San Bernardo and Amaniel, was once the palace of Ana Félix de Guzmán. In 1602 the marchioness gave it to the Society of Jesus, who built their house of novices there. The street took its name from that convent. The Jesuits trained novices for over a century and a half, until Charles III expelled them in 1767. Later the old novitiate housed the Central University, moved here from Alcalá de Henares, and ended up known as the Caserón de San Bernardo before its demolition. Today number 3 holds the Marqués de Valdecilla Historical Library. For decades the street had the air of an open-air market, with traders laying out their goods straight onto the roadway.

Its names

  • Calle de San BenitoAnterior a 1769
  • Calle del NoviciadoSiglo 18th (posterior a 1769) — actualidad
Sources (10)

Crossings