Plaza del Duque de Pastrana

This esplanade was the main square of Chamartín de la Rosa, the independent village that was not annexed to Madrid until 1948. Beside it stood the parish of San Miguel, and around it stretched the country estates and olive groves that gave the place its character. The name recalls the ducal house that ended up owning these lands. The dukedom of Pastrana was created by Philip II in 1572 for Ruy Gómez de Silva, an aristocrat of Portuguese origin who arrived in Castile as a child and rose to become the king’s favourite and Prince of Éboli. The village of Chamartín did not pass to the house through his famous marriage to Ana de Mendoza, the Princess of Éboli, but in 1679, when Catalina de Mendoza y Sandoval bought it. The estate, later known as the Quinta del Recuerdo, gathered palaces, gardens and orchards. In December 1808 Napoleon set up his headquarters here, with his troops camped in the neighbouring olive grove; a plaque at number 5 recalls it. Today none of the old buildings still stand on the square.