Plaza de Nicaragua
The square takes its name from the Central American republic of Nicaragua. It belongs to the system of Retiro Park walks and squares named after Hispano-American nations, established in the second half of the 19th century. The name was in use before 1878, when the Terrapins Fountain was moved to this spot.
Within the Buen Retiro Park, in the Jerónimos neighborhood, a small clearing bears the name of a Hispano-American republic. Plaza de Nicaragua opens beside the northern edge of the Great Pond, west of the Music Pavilion, and belongs to a family of spaces named after places in Spanish America: Mexico, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Honduras, Peru, Uruguay or Argentina. Nicaragua joined that roster before 1878.
What makes this corner memorable is not so much the name as what came to lodge in it. Here rests the Terrapins Fountain, a piece that began its life far from here. It was unveiled on 10 October 1832 at the Red de San Luis to celebrate the first anniversary of the birth of the future Queen Isabella II.
Its cast-bronze frogs and terrapins are held to be the first bronze castings made in Madrid. When the Canal de Isabel II came into service in 1858, the fountain lost its purpose. It first traveled to the Glorieta de la China and, in 1879, reached this square. The water began to run here on 14 August of that year.
Sources (7)
- Fuente de Isabel II o de los Galápagos — Patrimonio Cultural y Paisaje Urbano, Ayuntamiento de Madrid
- Fuente de los Galápagos — Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
- Parque del Retiro de Madrid — Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
- José Tomás (escultor) — Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
- Francisco Javier de Mariátegui — Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre
- Fuente de los Galápagos — Rutas con Historia
- Hispanoamérica en el callejero de Madrid — Telemadrid