Calle de Zaragoza

Calle de Zaragoza begins at the Plaza Mayor and ends at the Plaza de Santa Cruz. It is one of the ten historic entrances to the Plaza Mayor, and the only one on the east side that does not open beneath a built arch. Along its short, straight course it skirts the Palacio de Santa Cruz, which housed the Royal Court Prison from the 17th century and, since 1938, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The name arrived in 1835, when the marquis of Pontejos reformed Madrid’s street map. He wished to honour the cities that had distinguished themselves during the Peninsular War and shared out those names among several entrances to the square. That is why Zaragoza rules here and, a step away, the neighbouring calle de Gerona answers the same gesture. Before that date, the street changed its name at least three times, following what happened along it: first for the vines that grew around it, then for the devotion to Saint Hyacinth, and finally for the second-hand footwear trade that enlivened its arcades.