Paseo del General Martínez Campos

The avenue recalls Arsenio Martínez Campos (1831-1900), a soldier who fought in the Carlist wars, in Morocco and in Cuba. He went down in history for his gesture of December 29, 1874: at Sagunto he rose in revolt and proclaimed as king Alfonso XII, son of Isabella II, in the act that ended the Democratic Sexennium and returned the throne to the Bourbons. The street has borne his name since 1914. Before that it was called Paseo del Obelisco, because it began at the roundabout of the same name, today Plaza de Emilio Castelar. It opened around 1889 and soon filled with institutions tied to Spanish culture: the Institución Libre de Enseñanza had its seat here, and the Residencia de Señoritas, the first university residence for women in Spain, operated here. The painter Joaquín Sorolla built at number 37 the house with a garden where he lived and worked, now a museum.