Calle Don Álvaro de Bazán

Behind the name is a sailor who never lost a battle. Álvaro de Bazán y Guzmán was born in Granada in 1526, son of another famous admiral, and grew up among galleys and navigation charts. He chased corsairs in the Mediterranean, fought Turks and Frenchmen, and in 1569 received the title of Marquis of Santa Cruz. His day came at Lepanto, in 1571, in command of the reserve squadron: when the battle threatened to turn, he rushed to where the pressure was greatest and tipped the fight against the Ottoman fleet. Philip II later put him in charge of preparing the great expedition against England. Bazán armed nearly the whole Armada, but died in Lisbon in 1588, before setting sail; without him at the helm, the venture ended in disaster. He died undefeated, a rare fame among sailors, and Cervantes named him in Don Quixote. The street is a short stretch in the Ríos Rosas quarter.