Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo

The square beats at the heart of the old Salón del Prado, the public grove that Charles III ordered remodeled in the last third of the 18th century. In the middle rises the god of the sea: the Neptune Fountain, designed by Ventura Rodríguez in 1777. For over a century Neptune presided over the descent of the Carrera de San Jerónimo, until in 1898 it was moved to the center of the roundabout, where it remains. The name was fixed by municipal agreement in 1895, two years before the death of the man it honored. It is said the gesture carried a note of flattery, reserving so prestigious a spot for a living politician. Antonio Cánovas del Castillo (Málaga, 1828 – Mondragón, 1897) drove the Constitution of 1876 and agreed with Sagasta on the peaceful rotation that shared power between liberals and conservatives. He was assassinated by an Italian anarchist. Over the years the perimeter grew lavish: the Hotel Ritz opened in 1910, the Palace in 1912. But the name people repeat does not appear in the official register. Neptune reigns in common speech; Cánovas, on the plaque.